The Beacon by James David Victor

Author:James David Victor [Victor, James David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fairfield Publishing
Published: 2023-10-09T16:00:00+00:00

7

Lyra’Tonvash swept the Goose through the air and picked them up right from the street, which Melias was sure would’ve angered the Malvali under regular circumstances, but it didn’t seem like a big deal under current circumstances.

He was happy to be on the ship again, though climbing up the hatch to the main deck was a hassle, making him once again wish they had some sort of lift.

Once this is over, we’re getting one installed.

They left the planet and idled in the space just beyond the upper atmosphere. Melias went to see the doc, who did some scans but didn’t find any broken bones beyond the ones that were already mostly healed. This was just some bruising, not much to worry about. Still, the pain meds brought relief.

He couldn’t relax for long, though. With the device safely secured, he went to the comms and called the commander.

“Status report,” she said.

“Buckle up, sir, because it’s a doozy.”

He could almost hear her brows furrowing and lips curling into a frown. “What happened? You did recover the device? Did the Arachnoids cause you any trouble?”

“Actually, the opposite. The Malvali were very kind hosts, and the magistrate, Cargeco, was very helpful and understanding. But the issue came when Arke and I actually got into the device chamber and retrieved it. It caused damn near the whole city to awaken.”

“Let me guess, the Malvali hadn’t disabled all of the inner defenses because they deemed it to be sacrilegious.”

“Indeed. Well, they had taken any constructs that were out and about away, as they recognized the danger, but destroying walls and doors and digging for the inner workings was a no go, so there were still plenty buried. It all came alive when the device was taken.”

She paused and considered that. “And I can correctly assume, I hope, that since we’re having this conversation and that you aren’t frantically asking for aid that the situation has been dealt with?”

“You would be correct in assuming that, sir.”

An audible sigh that was filled with more than just relief. She was tired too. “Good. Some good news.”

It was his turn to frown. “Is there some bad news, Commander?”

“I’m afraid so.”

He had a feeling he knew what the news would be but braced himself anyway, because given the state of the galaxy, it really could have been several things. Still, when the words arrived, he was displeased but not shocked.

“I sent a squad after Red’s coordinates, but before they were even able to confirm or deny if she was there, we lost contact with them. So now I don’t know if they were killed or captured or if simply something is interfering with our comms, though that is almost never a good sign.”

“We can go check it out. Now that we have the device, I think we’re ready. Unless you would prefer us to return to Waystation as planned and regroup to form a better plan of attack?”

“I would disagree with that assessment, Volery. To say you are ready so soon

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