AcQuest: A Space Opera Military Technothriller (The Quest Saga Science Fiction Adventure Series Book 3) (24 page)

“
Welcome. Dr.Trisha,
” a mechanical voice said and the door smoothly slid open. Everyone scampered into the room in a rush and the door automatically closed behind them. Chris looked around. Trisha’s living quarters had two rooms. There was a common lounge filled with a couch and an armchair. A door led to her bedroom that was furnished with a single white bed and a dresser right next to it. Everyone made themselves comfortable on the couch and the soft peach carpets, while Carlos took the armchair like he usually did.

“What’s the plan now?” Lisara asked.

“Like High Commander Carlos said, we have to take charge of the control room,” Trisha said. “But it’s heavily protected. It’s almost impossible to breach.”

“Then we use the Lancelot,” Chris said.

“No!” Carlos jumped up. Everyone stared at him. “No,” he repeated, “I’ll go with Chris. I can work my way into the main computers.”

“Wait a minute,” Kai said. “What exactly are we going to do when we get control of the main computer?”

“The control room computer is the only one that can stop the Poseidon from transitioning to its last stage: The Hades,” Carlos said

“What do the rest of us do?” Juliana asked.

“I’ll go with Lisara to the hangar,” Trisha said. “If we sneak into one ship we can use its weapons to take out every other vehicle they have, so they won't be able to follow us out.”

“She has a point,” Kai agreed.

“Kai and Juliana can take care of the weapons sector,” she said. “If we wipe out both their weapons and ships we seriously hurt their chances of taking a bite back at us.”

“So are we all ready to go?” Chris asked.

“Already?” Lisara complained, “But we just got here. Can't we rest for any longer?”

“We just waited in here to let the intruder escapade settle down,” Kai said. “Pretty sure we’ve given it long enough.”

“Just one thing,” Carlos said, “If any of you find Q, do
not
let him get into battle. The last thing we need is an uncontrolled explosion.”

“Brotherly love,” Kai joked, “That’s so beautiful. I’m tearing up.”

“Let’s go then,” Lisara ran up to the door and punched a button on the wall. The door slid open.

Armed cadets covered the entrance, their mechanical rifles and laser blasters trained at everyone inside.

“Um… hello,” Juliana said.

A cadet walked into the room, “The Commander wants to meet all of you,” he knocked Lisara to the ground. “And he’s not happy.”

***

4-4

Q looked at Taylor. Her face was red with embarrassment. He could hear her heart thump its way into a drum roll. His heart was beating just as fast. He felt the warmth from her hand sear into his skin. Her jasmine perfume soothed him, enticing him to close his eyes and let all his fears go. And yet he was awake, because of what just happened.

She reached for his face and ran her thin fingers through his messy dark hair. He could feel her warm breath tickle his skin.

“Taylor,” Q started.

“Shhh,” she put her finger on his lips. She threw her hands around him and laid her head on his chest. His face felt hotter and hotter. His heart fluttered in a flurry of emotions, unidentifiable and incomprehensible.

A griffin’s cry echoed through the air, startling them both. Taylor pulled away from Q immediately.

A gust of wind blew up the sand around them, “
Did we miss something?
” Jade landed.

“Nope. Nothing at all,” Q panicked. “Absolutely nothing. Nothing to see here whatsoever. Nopety nope.”

“So we found the base the missile was fired from,” Burke said.

“
It’s a tower a few miles from here,
” Jade said.

“Go,” Taylor said. “You must leave quickly. There is no time to waste.”

Q hesitated, “What about you?” he asked.

“I’ll fly back to the academy,” she smiled.

He paused for a second, unsure if he should leave Taylor alone, especially after what had just happened.

She held his hand, “I’ll be fine,” she said. “Do not worry about me.”

“Okay then,” he smiled. He got onto Jade and the griffin took off. He turned back and saw Taylor grow smaller and smaller until she was but a small dark dot in a vast land of sand.

“The tower isn’t much farther away,” Burke said, “We should get our answers there.”

“Good,” Q said in a trance-like state. His mind was completely focused on something else. It wasn't everyday he got kissed by his childhood friend.

Sorry. That was phrased wrong. It wasn't everyday a childhood friend stole his first kiss.

Q tried to be mellow about what had just happened to him. He had to admit though, he was having quite a hard time doing it.

“You know, Q, there’s this pretty interesting theory about parallel Universes,” Burke said, “It says that every single person is the same in every single Universe. It says all emotions are the same. So if you had a girlfriend or something here. She would be the same girlfriend you would have back in our world.”

“Wait...what?” Q was startled.
Does Burke know about what happened?
he thought.
No, there’s no way he could have known.

“Isn’t that beautifully simplistic?” he asked. “All emotions follow the same path, no matter what happens.”

Q thought for a bit, “So what someone feels for someone else here is a copy of what the someone would feel for the same someone else there?”

“First of all, you’re lucky I understood that train of thought,” Burke said. “Second of all, the answer to your question is yes.”

Q stared into the blank sky. Things were starting to get a little complicated.

“Why are you so concerned about this?” Burke asked.

Oh dear,
he thought.
Calm down. Just calm down
.

“It just seems kind of interesting,” Q said.

“
This may not be the right time to say this,
” Jade said. ”
But I know what happened back there. Thought I should let you know.
”

Q’s heart jumped into his throat. “
You saw that?
” he switched to talking with his thoughts.

“
Yes,
” he said. “
Do not fret, I distracted Burke from noticing it.
”

“
Thanks, I guess,
” Q said. He felt awkward knowing that Jade had seen one of his most embarrassing moments.

“
What do you think it means?
” he asked.

“
What it means for a girl to do that?
” Jade asked. “
I do not know what your culture says of it but in general-
”

“
I know what it means, I just don’t know what it says about the Taylor in my world. If both Taylors are supposed to be the same then are their feelings supposed to be the same too?
” He couldn't visualize Taylor having those kinds of feelings for him. It just didn't seem natural.

“
Are you having such thoughts because of Burke’s theory? Do not overthink. It is only a theory; it could be real or a fairytale. I would rather focus on infiltrating the enemy’s lair. Which we’ve almost reached, by the way.
”

“
Thanks Jade,
” Q smiled.
All I have to do is stop those people from hurting Aliea,
he thought. The very thought of Aliea though just made him think about what had just happened between him and Taylor moments ago.

“
Control yourself,
” Jade said.

“
Easy for you to say,
” he said. “
And stop reading my mind!
”

It had been less than ten minutes since his little event, and everything had already become so dramatic. If his life was a well-oiled machine then love was a monkey with a wrench.

And he really didn’t like monkeys with wrenches.

***

Taylor was fine with being taken captive by a White Knight. She was fine with being threatened by her enemies. She was fine with having to battle her way out of any kind of trouble. But she was
not
fine with meeting Dr.D yet again. She was not fine with meeting a man who treated her more like a test subject and less like a human being. Yet, that very man stood right before her, and she could do nothing about it.

Dr.D smiled at her, “Happy to see me?”

Her eyes stared at him, her gaze fixed on his every movement.

“Ooooh scary,” he said. “Don’t worry. I won’t do anything to you.
He
would kill me if I tried something.”

Who is he talking about?
she wondered. He had kept referring to him as
he
instead of actually using his name. The White Knight walked to the only door on the floor. A section of the wall opened above the door and showered a red light on him.

“
Scan complete,
” a voice said, and the door slid open.

He turned to Dr.D, “Would you like to come in as well, Doctor?”

Dr.D shook his head, “I just came here to let you know what
he
wanted. I shall take my leave now. I’ll be in the lab if you need me,” he said and walked off.

The White Knight turned to the guards, “Bring the Dark Knight in when I tell you,” he said and walked in.

“So who’s this big guy I’m supposed to meet?” Taylor asked the guards.

“
What are you trying to do?
” Ruby said.

“
Just wait and watch,
” Taylor said.

The guards, meanwhile, looked at her quizzically, “We have no obligation to tell you who he is,” one of them said.

“I find it rather funny,” Taylor said, “You know, that you aren’t allowed to have an audience with
him
and all. Does
he
think you are not good enough?”

“We don't care about such trivial things. We do what Tobias tells us to do.”

Tobias,
she thought.
Must be that White Knight’s name
.

The door slid open and Tobias poked his head out the entrance.

“He’ll see you now,” he said and re-entered the room.

The guards pushed her, “You heard him. Get in there,” they said. Taylor and Ruby followed Tobias into a corridor covered with pictures and paintings. At the end of the corridor was a door. Another machine opened up on the sides of the walls and scanned the White Knight again.

A familiar beep sounded. “
Welcome, Squad Commander Tobias,
” an automated voice said. The door slid open and they entered a room.

“My lord,” Tobias bowed.

Taylor peeked in. A large table lay before her, and a singular tall chair at its very end. The chair’s back faced them, its large surface covering the man and keeping his identity unknown. He was viewing something on the huge screen that hung on the wall in front of him.

“So she is finally here,” the chair swiveled around smoothly. A tall man was seated in the chair. He wore a white business suit with a flashy red tie. He rapped his fingers against each other, each one adorned with gold and silver rings. His face was long and sly, with his black wavy hair falling to one side. He had a rod of pure gold next to him - his scepter no doubt - and with that information Taylor knew who she was facing right now.

“You must be the Knight King,” she said.

The man looked impressed. “Well done, child, my name is Albion. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

“I wish I could say the same.”

“
Can you try reading his mind?
” Taylor asked Ruby in her mind. She still didn't know what this man wanted with her. She had to find out if she wanted to get out of this situation anytime soon.

“
He’s protecting his mind from being read,
” Ruby seemed shocked, “
He knows what I can do. He isn't ordinary.
”

“
Of course he isn't ordinary. He’s the knight king.
”

“You must be wondering why I have brought you here,” Albion said, “It is true that Dr.D was the one who ordered you be taken in, but I was the one who expressed interest in you. So why do you think I went this far to meet you face to face?”

She looked at him cluelessly.
What is he trying to imply?
she wondered.

“Dr.D may have a scientific interest in you, but my uses for you are much more….practical,” he said. “I have a job for you.”

“What makes you think I’ll agree to do it?” she glared at him. There was no way she was taking some job offer from the White Knight King.

“It would suit you well to listen to what we have to say,” Albion slowly made his way to the screen, which automatically turned on and played a live video feed. A griffin shot through the air with two riders on its back.

“For if you do not listen to us-” the White Knight King pointed to one of the riders.

He had a familiar crop of black hair and gray eyes.

Albion flashed a wicked smile, “-the Wielder of Light will die.”

***

Q lay back on the griffin and looked up at the stars in the night sky. The Zygrade in the Anti-verse lay in a dense star cluster. Hundreds of stars lit up the sky, like an artist painting a dark canvas.

Burke snapped him out of his trance, “We’ve reached the tower,” he said.

Q got up and looked ahead. A huge circular white wall stood firm in the middle of the desert, and a white tower rose from the center and into the sky, its top ending in a sharp point.

“We better land here,” Q said. He needed to assess the enemy’s base before attempting any sort of attack.

Jade descended quickly onto the ground, his talons latching onto the loose sand and helping him come to a stop.

“What do we do?” Burke asked.

“We throw everything we have at that base and tear it down,” Q said. "But I’ll have to check the perimeter first.” He closed his eyes and activated his Q-maps. The images flowed into his mind. He focused his sights on the tower and tried to look deeper into it. A pocket of green energy glistened, turning everything else into a dull blur. He breathed deeply and opened his eyes, his face serious and silent.

“What’s wrong?” Burke asked.

Jade looked at Q with an expression of concern. Q figured the griffin had already finished reading his thoughts. He knew what was going on.

“We can't destroy the tower,” Q said. "Not yet.”

“Why not?” Burke asked.

“I sensed a familiar high-energy reading at the top of the tower,” Q sighed deeply. "It’s the Lambda Driver.”

Burke was stunned for a second, and then his expression changed to pure excitement. “So we get the driver and then we can go back home,” he pumped his fist into the air. “Let’s do this!”

“It isn't that simple,” Q bit his lip. "I saw a few security measures around the Driver.”

“I’m guessing they’re not easy to break.”

“I don't know. But considering that they’re in charge of protecting the Lambda Driver, I’m sure they won't be that easy to get past.”