Starfall: War of the Harbingers by Brad Pawlowski

Author:Brad Pawlowski [Pawlowski, Brad]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sunquake Books
Published: 2024-07-26T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

A blaring noise pierced Nathan’s skull, causing him to bolt up in bed, dazed. It was late at night, or the middle of the day. He couldn’t tell with all the time changes he’d been through in the last few weeks.

His mind rewound his most recent memories to pinpoint his whereabouts. He was in his room aboard the Cotzingo. Stumbling in the dark, he slipped on the clothes he’d had on the day before and rushed toward the unfamiliar noise. In the past week, Sakari had shown them the ropes of the operation here, but this wasn’t any alarm they’d gone over.

Once in the hallway, he found Riv, who looked as groggy and discombobulated as he was. Though she apparently hadn’t stopped to get dressed. Brandishing her rifle, she wore only underwear and a green sweatshirt. A unique fusion of lethality and comfort.

“Do you sleep with that thing?” he said, trying not to focus on the birthmark he spotted high on her left thigh.

She noticed, tilting her head and raising an eyebrow.

“It’s not the attack siren,” he said, quickly returning to the noise.

“Then what is it?”

“Not sure.” He rushed toward the sound.

Locating its origin was difficult as it rebounded up and down the ship’s corridors. Eventually they found the source, ending up in the Stardome.

Visuvus was already there with a few of her personnel. Above them on the holographic star map, a planet labeled Voltair was pulsing red.

“Why is it doing that?” Nathan said, trying to work out where the planet was.

Visuvus directed her people about, then turned to Nathan. “It appears to be a warning. Let us uncover the answer.”

“That’s near the core,” Roman said, walking into the conversation. “It would take me a month just to get there.”

“Roman, I need you to stay here in case Drelmar signals us.” Visuvus turned to Nathan and Riv. “Prepare yourself and rendezvous in the hangar. We can get there faster.”

Nathan returned to his quarters and threw on the light infantry armor he was issued. A few minutes later, he met Riv and headed to the hangar.

Visuvus, accompanied by five heavily armed soldiers, waited for them. Their armor was mostly blue and gray, with clear, crystalline reinforcements on the chest and back. After a quick introduction, she led them to the black ship Nathan had noted when they’d first arrived. The one that resembled a Kavkin deep sea whale.

“What is this?” Riv said, dragging her hand along the ship’s hull. “It’s not metal.”

The entrance hatch didn’t have sharp angles of any kind. Riv was right, it wasn’t metal. It was more like soft tissue or gel. As they entered, the hatch didn’t swing shut but sealed over like—

Nathan turned to Visuvus. “Is this a Tanzi?”

She smiled. “You continue to surprise me. What is your familiarity with them?”

The rest of the team stowed their gear and settled into a central cavity while Nathan walked with Visuvus to the bridge section.

“I know they’re alive. The Meraki use them. It was like symbiotic armor. I had a type of…” He motioned to his head, then waved his hand.

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