Starseers: Fallen Empire, Book 3 (21 page)

Alejandro only spread his arms, palms up.

“Is it possible the blood was synthesized in a medical facility? I know that can be done in hospitals, and the Starseers don’t seem rustic and remote, despite the fact that they live in an ice palace at the north pole.”

“It is possible, but it would take more sophisticated equipment than I have here to tell the difference between synthesized blood and real blood.”

A boom came from somewhere outside, and the
Nomad
shuddered.

Alisa gripped the console for support. “What was that?” She did not think Mica had found time to detonate her explosives yet. “Leonidas?”

He had disappeared from view again, and more smoke than before clouded the landing pad between the Starseers and the temple. Two of the warriors broke ranks and ran toward the open door. Leonidas leaned out to fire at them. Orange blazer bolts lit the smoky air, zipping toward their robed chests.

Since they did not wear armor, Alisa thought they were dead, but the bolts bounced off invisible shields in front of them. A second series of bolts raced toward them, and one man spun his staff, knocking them out of the air as if that weapon were made of the strongest metal rather than the wood it appeared to be. Leonidas kept firing, forcing them to defend themselves. He also rolled out another smoke canister.

Realizing that the skirmish had nothing to do with the boom she had heard, Alisa tore her gaze from Leonidas and the Starseers and checked the sensors. She cursed at what was coming into view. The mists were still making it all but impossible for her sensors to detect what lay beyond, but they could detect things that were close without much trouble, especially in this clear area around the temple. Three massive Alliance warships were closing in on the Starseer compound.

Even as she watched, they fired e-cannons and torpedoes. Orange and yellow bursts of energy blazed through the mists, streaking toward the temple. Alisa winced, expecting them to strike, to blow the icy walls into pieces. But the attacks halted before reaching the structure, much as Leonidas’s blazer bolts had been deflected by invisible shields that the Starseers had raised.

“Are they defending this place with their
minds
?” Alisa wondered.

“Might be energy shields around the temple, Captain,” Beck said.

She didn’t look back at him. She was still peeved that he had refused to go out and help Leonidas.

More shivers ran through the ship, emanating up from the pier below. This time, it was the artillery weapons stationed on the tower walls. The Starseers were firing at the descending warships, who were firing back. Small one-man Strikers and Cobras shot out of the hangar bay in the rear of one of the Alliance ships. It was about to be a full-blown battle out there. And the
Nomad
was in the middle of all of it.

Alisa adjusted the sensors. Yes, they were reading a lot more energy around the temple than had been there previously. “I think you’re right about the shields, Beck. The question is what do we do about it?”

“Hope the Starseers win?”

Alisa had no idea if they could. The Alliance had brought in a
lot
of firepower. Even as she watched, another warship disgorged its fighter unit, and another two-dozen Strikers streaked into the fray. Alisa, who had flown in just such a squadron, was intimately familiar with their tactics and how effective they could be.

The comm lit up again.

Alisa smacked it. “I’m sorry. I don’t have the answers you want. I don’t know anything.”

“An alarming admission from a ship’s captain,” a male voice said.

Alisa did not recognize it. Had another Starseer taken over for Naidoo? She took a closer look at the comm panel and realized one of the warships had hailed her.

“I’m a special captain,” she said. “Who is this?”

“Commander Farrow of the
Star Nautilus
.”

Alisa sank down into the pilot’s seat. She had never met the man, but she had heard of the commander and the ship.

Tremors coursed through the
Nomad
as more weapons fired, the temple aiming at the warships swooping back and forth in the sky overhead. How had they found this place through the mists? And how were they navigating their craft so easily now?

No, not easily, she realized, glancing toward her other camera displays. One of the Strikers was going down, crashing into the ice. Alisa did not think it had been struck, not by a
physical
weapon. Smoke spiraled up from the mangled craft. But how many could the Starseers drop like that before their shields went down? The Alliance had brought plenty of ships to play. It could survive a few casualties.

“Is there a reason you’re contacting me, Commander?” Alisa asked as she fiddled with the sensors, trying to learn more about the fleet.

“Commander Fujimoto of the
Final Impact
pointed out that it would be polite to thank you and give you a chance to escape before we destroy the Starseer compound.”

“
Final Impact
?” Alisa mouthed. That had been the ship in dock at Arkadius Gamma at the same time as the
Nomad
had been there. It was Khazan’s ship. “Why do I have a feeling that’s not a coincidence?” she muttered.

“What was that, Captain?”

“I was wondering why you’re thanking me,” she said.

“You’re the reason we were able to find this place. The Arkadians have suspected it was here all along, and they’ve been blaming the Starseer presence for many of the recent natural disasters. They’ll be pleased with the Alliance, and quit blaming
us
for their problems, when the Starseers on Arkadius are no more.”

“You’re attacking them because of public gossip?”

“We’re attacking them because of crimes they’ve been committing against normal, good human beings for centuries,” Farrow said coolly. “This is your last warning. Leave now or you’ll be destroyed along with the temple.”

Leave? How were they supposed to leave with an energy shield surrounding the temple? The very thing that was keeping the enemy fire out would keep the
Nomad
in.

Alisa looked toward the doorway of the temple again, hoping Leonidas was on the verge of pushing through and joining them. She would gladly open the hatch for him. More smoke than ever covered the landing pad, making it hard to even see the door. Some of the Starseers had gone closer while others still blocked the way to the
Nomad
. Blazer fire flashed somewhere behind the smoke-filled doorway. Was he fighting inside now?

She clenched her fist, tempted to grab one of Beck’s weapons and run out to help, but she could not refute his logic, that one of the Starseers could simply flick her off the pier with a thought.

Another volley of e-cannon fire slammed into the temple’s shields. The warriors out on the pier looked toward the sky, and several spoke into comms, or maybe they were yelling to each other.

“We need to get out of here,” Beck said.

“I know that, but I’m still not leaving without Leonidas.” Alisa realized that since he was in his armor, he ought to have access to the comm unit integrated into his helmet. Distracting him might not be a good idea now, but she had to know his status and if there was anything she could do to help him with the Starseers.

But as she reached for the comm panel, a
clank-thunk
sounded from under the ship.

“What was that?” Beck asked.

Alisa pointed at the undercarriage camera, where one of the docking clamps was once again in view. The explosives that Mica had planted on them earlier were nowhere in sight. “I believe our invitation to leave was just revoked.”

Chapter 15

“Leonidas?” Alisa asked, calling his helmet comm from the
Nomad
. “Are you—”

A stab of pain erupted inside of her skull, the power making her suck in a sharp gasp. Something that felt like a dire hawk’s talons raked through her brain. Memories of the last several days flashed through her mind—no, they were
taken
from her mind.

She had no idea which Starseer was scouring her brain, but it was someone powerful. This was a lot more than the reading of surface thoughts that Yumi had spoken about. She relived the stopover on Starfall Station, the cargo drop-off on Arkadius Gamma, the flight down to the planet, the pursuit by the White Dragon ship and the crash, everything that had happened over the last week before the Starseers had appeared to guide them to their temple. Captain Khazan’s face flashed in her mind, and then the memories disappeared. Unfortunately, the presence in her head did not.

You led them here with a tracking device
, someone spoke into her mind.

Lady Naidoo? Alisa could not be sure.

“I didn’t know,” she blurted.

Alisa was vaguely aware that she had fallen out of her seat and lay flat on her back on the deck. Beck crouched next to her, his eyes wide with concern. “Captain?” he asked. “Captain, are you all right?”

His voice sounded far away.

I see that
, Naidoo said,
but you have brought trouble down upon us, nonetheless. More trouble.
Those words came as a growl, and Leonidas’s armored figure flashed into Alisa’s mind.

“I didn’t mean to,” she whispered, wincing. The sensation of having talons raking through her brain had lessened, but her head still throbbed with pain. It was as if Naidoo’s very presence caused distress.

“Captain?” Beck asked again, his voice still very distant. “Who are you talking to?”

Alisa could not respond to him. She twitched a finger. It was all she could manage.

Command your cyborg to stand down
, Naidoo ordered.
My people must get to our fighter ships so they can defend the temple. We are targeting the warships, but they are well armored, and their small fighter craft are harrying us. There is a limit to what we can do with our large artillery weapons. The smaller ships are too maneuverable for us to easily target.

Alisa could imagine. She had flown similar craft all throughout the war.

A silence came after her thought, though she sensed that Naidoo had not left her mind.

We must take down the pilots one-by-one with our mental powers. There are many, many craft up there. We need our own pilots in the air. Call off your cyborg. He’s too damned crafty, keeping our warriors distracted and under attack so they’re struggling to focus their mind powers on them.

Alisa resisted the urge to think a firm
Good
in response. This wasn’t the time to be smug, not when she was in the same boat as the Starseers right now. If the Alliance succeeded in destroying the temple, the
Nomad
would surely be destroyed right along with it.

I must have your word that your people will not harm Leonidas if I ask him to get out of the way,
Alisa thought back, then wondered if she should have spoken out loud. How in the hells did telepathy work? She decided that if Naidoo knew who she had spoken to days ago at the station, then she ought to be able to hear these thoughts.

He has injured many of my people
, Naidoo growled into her mind, not sounding like she wanted to issue that order.

Well, he’s not going to stand down so they can injure him right back. Again.
Alisa tried to make her own voice a growl.
They’ve been treating him badly since he arrived. Have you even knocked on Abelardus’s door to see if he’s in his room? Or done a scan of the station? I sincerely doubt he’s been murdered.
If only Alejandro’s look at the blood had helped confirm that notion.

He is one of our best pilots, and we’ll be missing him in this battle, but one man is not what’s important now. Call off your cyborg.

You’ll give the order that he won’t be attacked?
And you’ll let us go?
Alisa asked.

Naidoo did something akin to a snort in her mind.
Your fate should be intertwined with ours, since you led these people here.

How do you know that’s true?

Alisa couldn’t rule out that Khazan might have done something, but if she didn’t know that for sure how could Naidoo possibly know it? Or was this more jumping to conclusions, as they had done with Abelardus’s supposed murder?

Your fate is tied to ours
, Naidoo repeated.
You’re not going anywhere. Unless you want to help with the battle.

What?

Your cyborg has robbed us of one of our pilots, and I saw in your mind that you have experience with fighter craft.

“I’m not fighting the Alliance,” Alisa blurted, so appalled by the notion that it came out through her lips rather than from her mind.

A light shone into her eyes. Alejandro had joined Beck in kneeling to check on her, and was peering at her pupils.

“She’s clearly conscious,” Alejandro told Beck.

The Alliance is trying to destroy us
, Naidoo said.
And you may have noticed that they’re not overly concerned about taking you down with us. If not for our shields, your ship would already have been destroyed. We all would have been. Your precious cyborg too.

Alisa wanted to argue, to say that Naidoo was wrong, but she couldn’t. It would be a lie. Farrow didn’t care if the
Nomad
went down with the temple. He’d given her a chance to escape, but if she hadn’t taken it, that wasn’t his problem. What did he care if extenuating circumstances had kept her from fleeing?

Just help us drive them off
, Naidoo said.
Once they leave, we’ll move our temple so they can’t find us again. You’ll be free to go.

And Leonidas?

Naidoo sighed.

I need him.
Realizing that was not likely to sway the woman, Alisa added
, I need him to go up and fight, to help you. Most of what you’ve got that I can fly are two-man fighters. I need him to be my gunner.

A boom rattled the
Nomad
—it must have rattled the entire temple. The warships were hurling more than torpedoes and e-cannon blasts now. Alisa thought of what might happen if the engines that held the temple aloft were damaged.