Nightmares & Dreams: A Science Fantasy Space Western: Eydulan Series Book 2 (8 page)

Fury says, “Gravity bullets are chambered and ready to be fired.”

Kat says, “Great. Now we need to know where that other warship is, then we can get the hell out of here.”

Whisper says, “I have them both in pursuit. They both have weapons lock, and my sensors are picking up something weird. Some type of energy flux but I can’t pinpoint it.”

Kat replies sarcastically, “That’s just prefect. Hold on tight.”

She whips the ship around, pointing the nose of the ship between where the two warships should be.

She says, “Gravan take the secondary cannons, and Fury take the primaries. Aim each pair of them at a ship, and we’re going to fly past them.”

Gravan says, “I hope this works.”

The Felicity flies between them as large red lights on either side flare up. Kat waits for on a fraction of a second, wanting to get past a certain point before ordering the command.

Passing that point Kat says, “Fire!”

Gravan and Fury shoot the two pairs of cannons. Each shell colliding into the rear shields of each ship, exploding.

Whisper says, “Hits confirmed.”

Kat grins, “Hit the FTL drives.”

Felicity clears the two warships as their cannons still follow her. The four gravity balls pull the two warships into each other. These were different from the one she used on Gwen. The size of them alone made Kat shiver with the memory of Gwen’s body snapping and contorting around it. She watches on the screen, as the shields of the ships start to rub against the gravity wells, finally shattering. The outer hulls start to contort around them. Thats when she notices a purple glow surrounding each warship. It was faint at first, but as it grew more intense it flowed to a point between the two.

Whisper says, “Uhh… Kat, remember that energy flux I was talking about?”

Kat says, “Yes, why?”

“Its magic. A powerful incantation magic to be precise, preformed — by my best guess — at least two hundred highly skilled wizards.”

“I need to know this, why?”

“Because its aimed at us right now.”

Before Kat has time to say, what, a large purple beam fires from the sphere of light that grew between the ships. It roars over the Felicity. The ship shakes like in an earthquake. Sparks fly out of all the controls, and the power flickers.

Whisper says, “Shields down, and engine output down to twenty percent.”

Kat asks, “Can we still make the FTL jump?”

“Maybe, but we won’t be able to make it all the way back to Illusion.”

“That’s fine, just get us out of here so we live through this.”

“Course plotted, jump in five.”

Kat flips the cameras to where the two warships are, each still aglow in a purple haze. The light flows between the two again, quicker than she would have believed possible.

Kat asks, “Whisper… you might want to hurry!”

Whisper replies full of sarcasm, “Like I’m waiting to get hit by the magical purple death beam until you tell me to hurry. Stupid monkey. FTL jump ready, initiating.”

Purple light screams toward the Felicity as her FTL drives hum to full. Kat closes her eyes, not wanting to see what was about to happen. There was nothing else she could do.

Whisper says, “You can open your eyes now Kat. We’re out of harms way. For now.”

“We are? Thank God.”

“I didn’t know I had become a deity to you.”

“You know what I mean Whisper. Gravan are you ok?”

He says, “I think so. I got a couple of small burns. Nothing a quick trip to the medical bay won’t fix. You?”

“I’m ok. Whisper how’s our passenger?”

“He’s alive. Probably in agony, but from nothing we’ve done.”

“Guess that’s to be expected. How are you two and the Felicity doing?”

“Fury and I are fine but the ship’s engine is in need of a few repairs, the shield generator is busted again, and the whole outside of the ship is scorched. I don’t have sufficient knowledge to categorize that.”

“Bad would be the appropriate category.”

Gravan says, “Well, once I get done in the med bay, I will head over to the shields. Do you think you can handle the engines?”

Kat replies, “I think so. Whisper can tell me what to do.”

The next few hour Kat had spent in the engine room with Whisper. Wires and circuit boards were fried, which needed to be replaced. The alignment of the crystals inside of the housing needed to be put back into place. Which was an experience Kat hopes to never have to repeat. Then she had to drain and connect all of the breakaway hoses back into the right order. Which doesn’t sound all that bad, but the fluid filling the hoses was sticky pinkish syrup like liquid and smelled like a week old gym bag that was baking in the sun. She had to forcibly keep herself from throwing up multiple times.

Whisper explained how when the spell hit and overloaded the shields, the excess magic started to flow into the magi-tech reactor. If it would have continued, the engine would have exploded, which is why they have breakaway hoses. Something that wasn’t standard in Guild ships. That was the Earth Empire’s doing, because the Guild doesn’t attack its own in space. They like to be more personal.

With all of the work finished, and a long hot shower done, Kat goes into the common area. Gravan was cooking some kind of chicken dish. There was a hint of spicy sweetness in the air. That was one thing she never had to question, food. It was always being prepared around there. She likes to think his obsession with cooking lead to his obsession with sharp objects. Something she will have to ask him about later, when they don’t have people trying to kill them or someone who needs rescuing. Right now they need to talk about their next move.

Kat says, “Gravan, we need to figure out what we are going to do next.”

He nods not turning around, “I know. If Whisper was right…”

Whisper interjects, “I always am.”

“Yes, I know. So like I was saying, if she’s right, then they already sent the Felicity’s ID in as a bandit ship. So anywhere we go in Guild territory will be dicey.”

Kat runs her fingers through her hair, one of her many nervous tics. With Hanna in Guild territory, how were they going to get there. Knox would probably take them, but leaving the Felicity anywhere close to them could mean trouble for him and Gale. Something she wasn’t about to put them in the middle of. Again. Knox could always just reregister Felicity, but the last time he did that it took almost a month. Time they didn’t have.

Ragnarok was the planet that officer had said he took Hanna too. It’s in the center of Guild space, so there isn’t an easy way to just show up there unannounced. There is over a dozen different check points between the outer edge of Guild territory to get there. That has to be at least part of the reason it was there, now that she thinks about it. Hard to escape when in every direction you go people will be waiting for you. There had to be a solution where they can get to the planet, rescue Hanna and get out. Alive preferably.

Kat looks up from the floor. Gravan is standing near the stove top, looking at her. He has a smile on his face, but she can tell its only for show. How could he be smiling at a moment like this? Every thought about making a plan seems to add more problems. She takes in a breath, letting it out slowly. This whole process was getting her worked up in worry, something she knew wouldn’t help the situation. She just stares at Gravan, trying to figure out where that goofy grin is coming from.

He breaks the silence first, saying, “I got a plan, but you’re not going to like it.”

Kat folds her arms across her chest in anticipation for whatever bad idea he just came up with. Of course at this point, anything was better than what she was coming up with.

She says, “Ok, what is it?”

“I’m already wanted by the Guild, so if I just fly there on a shuttle…”

Kat cuts him off, “No. Not happening.” This idea was worse, that’s what she gets for thinking a man could plan better than she could.

“You didn’t even hear the part…”

“I said no. I don’t want you captured. It’s bad enough that our little piece of paradise is destroyed and out of our reach. To have you incarcerated… No. I can’t handle that.”

“Whisper could pair to me and hide inside me, I could then use her to get Hanna and myself out.”

Kat stops herself from immediately saying no. The last part is actually a decent idea, and she had to give him at least that. Whisper will be overjoyed to be included in this, and Kat can’t wait to hear what objection she’s going to use this time.

Kat asks, “Well Whisper you heard him. Do you think its possible?”

There is a pause in the air before she answers, “No. I can’t be separated from Katrice. It would cause a catastrophic loss.”

Kat takes a moment before saying anything. What could Whisper be talking about.

She asks, “What do you mean by catastrophic loss?”

Whisper replies, “If I were to be separated from you there would be a reset initiated to some of my main systems. I haven’t found a good time to tell you this, but I unlocked a few more sealed files. If I change users, my personality will be tuned to the person who’s in possession of me.”

“Wait a second. You’re telling me that your super sarcastic and organic hating because I want you to be that way?”

“It seems so. My experiences and mental growth are still my own, and I keep those, but my mannerisms and speech would change. I could even flip genders so to speak. AI’s don’t have them like you humans, but the humans that made us wanted to have distinctions.”

Gravan says, “So you can’t change over to me without losing yourself in the process?”

“Correct. I’ve become quite fond of the way I am, and would prefer not to change.”

Kat rubs her forehead. “I still can’t believe that I would want you this way.”

“You have never been a fan of cybernetics, and you are straight forward in most of your dealings. I’m your counter balance.”

“Great that’s all I ever needed.”

Gravan and Whisper laugh.

Kat says, “Hey.”

Gravan says, “That is too perfect.”

Everyone in the room has another laugh. Kat had hated cybernetics since she was young. She watched her mother go berserk and kill her father. Then she got to watch the police come and kill her mother. They told her it wasn’t her mother’s fault. There was a bug in the cybernetics, and it made her go crazy. Shortly after that was when she got tossed into the orphanage. It took her two years of bouncing around, before she wound up on Bexar Omega, and ran away. The foster families and orphanages were filled with nice people, but they weren’t her parents. They would never be her parents. She ran when a middle-aged couple came looking for a daughter to adopt. They may have been the best people in the universe but at that point in time, Kat didn’t care.

She was lucky when she found Knox and her second home. It had been almost six months with no real food or shelter. Resorting to digging through trash for food, and finding places to sleep where the police wouldn’t find her. She had wondered into Knox’s garage. He had left it open, and she was running from an officer that caught her digging through trash for dinner. The next morning she woke to Knox’s face, rubbing his beard like he always did. He told her he needed help around the shop, and there would be room and board for the work. If she was good enough there might even be some money in it. Kat wasn’t sure what to think about the then middle-age man. His beard already had silver running through it. Something about it reminded her of her father, and his greying hair.

She followed her gut, taking the job. Knox then brought her home to Gale, and her cooking. It was right there she felt for the first time in months she could relax. She broke down and started to cry while eating, finally letting out what she was bottling up. Kat didn’t even remember the meal, just how good it tasted, and the warmth of the house verse the cold of the space station. Knox and Gale just let her cry for a moment, and then hugged her. It was this kindness and everyone after they gave her that makes her not want to get them involved if she doesn’t absolutely have to.

Whisper says over the silence of the room, “We need to come up with a plan that doesn’t involve me switching hosts.”

Kat says, “I agree, so now I’ve got a plan that no one is going to like.”

Gravan says, “No. I already know what you’re about to say, and that planet is filled with dangerous mages. I can handle a few mages easy. You can’t absorb magic like I can, too dangerous.”

“I’m the only option. Whisper, you can do what he suggested, right? Hide inside of me, so I can use you once I’m inside.”

Whisper says, “Yes I can. Your cybernetics make you a perfect place for me to hide. They won’t be able to tell you have anything with you. Good thing you don’t have compartments in your cybernetics. There would be a chance they just take them from you.”

Kat shivers at the thought. It hadn’t even been a consideration that they could take her libs off, but they could. All that would leave her with was a left leg. There’s another thought for her to file away in the nightmare folder, which was starting to grow larger than what she would ever want it to be.

She says, “Since you can Whisper, then that means it has to be me. They’re going to be looking for the Felicity and her crew. If I tell them I’m her captain, and sole crew, they should take me in. We did just destroy three of their warships.”

Gravan takes her in his arms, “I can’t have you do this. It’s too dangerous.”

Kat lays her head on his chest. It’s warm, and she can smell the sweet spices on his shirt from the meal thats still cooking. Her brain was telling her this is a terrible idea. So many things could go wrong.

She pushes her doubts away by saying, “I know. It’s a terrible idea. The likely hood we get out safely is almost nonexistent, but it’s the only way. We can’t go in guns blazing. You can hook up to Whisper. Fury doesn’t come apart like whisper can, and Jack’s going to be in recovery for weeks.”

“I know all of that, but you're my wife. The one for who my soul loves. How can I call myself a man if I’m letting you put yourself in harms way.”

Kat smiles, and softly kisses his lips. “It will be ok. Somehow. There’s the necklace you made me, so you can find me. It will always connect the two of us. Then there’s Whisper who will be with me whole way. You know how protective of me she’s been recently.”