Tiva Boon: Heir of Abennelp (Tiva Boon Series Book 2) (32 page)

Without warning, the arboretum glowed red and the alert rang through the ship.

“God damn it!” His eyes turned the color of the lights flashing around them. He hungrily kissed her once more, and pulled the shirt up over her shoulders. “Go get dressed, m’lady…we’ll finish this later.”

T
iva entered the command center, fully dressed in uniform, weapons at the ready, and moved to her station. Aries smiled as she passed and Emerala and Aliri greeted her quietly.

Adam and the others were already working at their stations, so as she waited for a briefing, she contacted her team, ran a sweep of the ship, and studied the information recorded overnight. The commandant of Earth’s fleet picked up a ship on sensors and alerted the entire company. Fighters and smaller combat ships zipped across the displayer, as everyone moved into position.

At this location, the design of the enemy ship was unknown so Maar and his peers were taking all precautions. Aliri glanced over once or twice, something obviously on her mind, but she stayed silent and did her work.

Tiva worked for a few more hours with no briefing from the Captain. Aries barked out orders here and there, mostly the crew scanned the region for wormholes and ships. The displayer fizzled some and Maar glanced back at Emerala.

She shrugged. “I’m not picking up any interference. Maybe it’s an internal problem?”

“Get Delko on it,” Maar replied. “Cooper raise our alert status and Caedm inform Commandant Kiam, he’s on the—”

“
Elysium
, yes, sir!”

“Captain, I’m picking up the jamming frequency they are using…it’s a battle glider,” Emerala announced. “Informing the others now.”

“All right p-people, this is it…” Aries glanced around the room. “Aliri, begin deep scans for w-wormhole activity. Emerala, initiate the e-emergency communications protocol no one is to clutter the ch-channels from this point forward.”

“Cooper, load all shadow missiles and charge the cannons. Nassut, coordinate all Union vessel movements with the
Elysium
, and Boon ensure the entire crew is weapons heavy,” Maar finished.

Tiva nodded, shut down her console, and exited the command center. She stopped at her office first to gather a cache of plasma guns refurbished by the engineering and security teams. They were more powerful than the general models, so she replaced her two and carried on down the corridor.

Ranndom and Hemko were speaking with a few of the other security members when she arrived on the flight deck. All but one of the ship fighters stayed behind, leaving her force short a few members.

“We were just talking about those, have they been cleared for use?” Ranndom asked.

“Yes,” Tiva answered handing each of them three. “Ensure your sharpest shooters have one, the rest will have to rely on the normal guns.”

“You have two?” Hemko asked, eyeing her belt.

“I do.”

He smirked. “Weapon hog.”

Tiva narrowed her gaze, gripped her claw, and stared him down. “Is that a problem?”

He took a step back. “Uh…”

She walked past without a word.

Hemko called out after her, “I was only joking!”

As she neared the junction, she turned and smiled slightly. “As was I.”

Ranndom’s laughter roared through the corridor when she turned the corner.

Hemko, caught off guard, grumbled, “Man, that’s so not funny…”

Chuckling softly to herself, she made her way down a few levels to find the rest of her team and distribute the last of the modified weapons. The ship swayed unexpectedly, and she braced herself against the wall. The assault had begun. She took off running and found the junior crew members near the engineering level. After a quick tutorial, she handed the last three weapons over and rushed back to the lift.

As she rode up, her wrist-comm beeped. “Boon here.”

“Ready your team for a planet side operation, the Syndicate launched a group of landing pods to hit the colonies.” Maar’s voice was tight and sharp through the channel.

“I am on my way, sir.” Forcing the lift to stop, she redirected it back down and found Ranndom and Hemko walking her way. “Gather teams one and two, get to the flight deck quickly, we’re supporting Omega Force on one of the colonies.”

“Good, I’m ready for some action,” the Iarashin snarled.

“Hurry.” She nodded and grabbed Ranndom. “Come with me.”

Together, they scoured the ship for more weapons and reached the cargo ship with a few minutes to spare. The pilot was already prepping to leave, and Hemko and the others were securely inside.

Kick some ass, Tiva.

I will try, Adam.

Once inside, she handed each person a secondary weapon then searched the back of ship for protective suits. The ship exited the bay and the darkness of space enveloped them. An Omega fighter came alongside as escort and the two ships darted for Mars, the fourth planet of the solar system.

Only six or seven Syndicate ships had entered the area so far. None of them used the jumper; that in itself was cause for concern. The pilot weaved through the Union ships with precision and followed the Omega fighter as it passed the fifth planet. Through the window, Tiva saw small flashes of light careening toward Mars. They were making good time, with luck they’d arrive before the pods hit the surface.

Tiva and the Omega commander, Hatch Tuleya began to coordinate their operation. Three settlements of people were scattered about the red planet. Two were mostly families and workers. The third was a weapons factory and shipyard, the obvious target of the Syndicate. It spanned several kilometers and had several entry and exit ports. Tuleya and his fifty soldiers along with Tiva and her twenty would supplement the colonies current security force. At least, she hoped so.

“One of the pods crashed on Mars,” the pilot announced.

“Impossible, pods cannot travel that fast,” Tiva remarked.

“It wasn’t part of the original three, ma’am. This one must have been launched during the first strike. It’s a few kilometers from the settlement…”

“That should give us some time to get into position…” Ranndom added.

“Thank goodness for small favors, eh?” Hemko remarked.

“Indeed,” Tiva replied and glanced to the computer console. “I want Ranndom and team one on the front line with me. Hemko and the rest are secondary. Mr. Tuleya of Omega Force will be leading the operation; we are here to support them. His orders are my orders, understood?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Everyone must wear a protective suit. The surface has no breathable air outside the domes. Check your weapons to ensure they are fully charged. We will arrive shortly.”

The Omega fighter dipped down, preparing to orbit the planet and find clear landing. They followed, the pilot keeping close tabs on the sleek craft. Tiva moved to the scanners and checked out the surface. By the looks of the readings, the majority of the people living in the domes had vanished. She swept the third dome and again, no one was near.

“Something is not right here…”

“What is it Boon?” Ranndom asked while adjusting his suit.

“The planet is barren. There are no biological readings on the surface.”

“Nobody’s home?”

“Apparently,” she huffed and tap on the computer to call Tuleya. “Commander, verify the sensor sweeps. There are no people on the planet.”

“Checking…” the voice responded through the comm.

“Why would they evacuate without telling anyone?” Ranndom asked.

“This is the question that needs answering,” Tiva said then turned to the pilot. “Do not take us into an orbital flight yet…”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Boon, you there?” Tuleya called.

“I am.”

“I checked with the commandant, they didn’t order an evacuation of the surface. Everyone was ordered to stay there and protect the facility…we’re not sure what’s…”

A bright yellow flash of light enveloped the left side of Mars. The ship jerked hard to the right as the pilot did his best to compensate.

“Boon, look!”

Vibrant blue rings of fire lit the planet’s surface. She slid fingers over the panel, attempting to gather any information from the sensors. “I do not believe it…”

“What?” Hemko limped up to the cockpit.

“Get us out of here, now!” She opened a channel to the fighter. “Tuleya get your ship—”

The blue fire pulsed and grew in size. Tunneling upward, the cyclone cut through the Omega fighter with the ease of fangs on flesh. In an instant, the light vanished. Tiny hunks of metal cluttered the area. The pilot banked hard to the left, dodging the aftershock. Tiva brought up the displayer and changed the angle to watch the planet.

A second pod landed on the surface and the cycle began again. These were not pods to land an assault force.

“Boon, do you read us?” Maar’s voice called through the comm channel.

“Yes, Captain.”

“Get back here now!”

“Sir, I believe the pods are weapons,” she said with a rushed tone as she nodded to the pilot to retreat. “The escort fighter has been destroyed. And all the people on the surface have disappeared.”

“The commandant just received word from the colony, they fled during the night. One of the lead colony prefects uncovered a communication. The majority of the workers in the factory were Syndicate spies. They were building the weapons you just saw in action. They’re calling them global destroyers.”

“Boon, the last two are landing!” Ranndom said.

“Quickly!” she shouted to the pilot. The surface was devoid of activity. No flashes of light or rings of fire followed the pod’s landing. As the pilot was about to initiate a quick jump to warp; Tiva grabbed his arm. “Wait.” Her fingers slid over the controls, something was not right. None of this was making sense. A sudden burst of readings lit the screen.

“I don’t get it,” Hemko remarked.

“It was a diversion; they
have
landed people on the surface. Turn us around and take us down.”

“But the captain said to go back,” Ranndom said.

“Inform him of the situation, I will ready the others.”

“You want us to go down there twenty strong and face however many of them there are down there?” Hemko blinked, astounded.

“They will send reinforcements to aid us. There is something down there the Syndicate wants or wishes to eliminate traces of, we need to know what.”

With a look of reluctance, both the pilot and Ranndom nodded and did as she ordered. She moved to the back of the ship and informed the others of their new objective. There was no way she would let a simple tactical diversion sway her decision to do the right thing. The Union needed answers, and this colony was part of the equation. Once the team was dressed in suits and ready, she walked back to the cockpit.

“He’s sending a few fighters and one of the fleet’s combat ships to our location…they can’t spare many. It’s getting bad; three more battle gliders appeared through the wormholes.”

“Then we must hurry,” she responded and locked the suit’s helmet into place. The red planet appeared before her eyes as they neared the surface. In the distance, the dome of the factory looked crushed and weak, yet she noticed movement inside. “Land the craft near that ridge, out of view.”

Before the pilot answered, the entire area exploded in a massive ball of gold and blue flames. The ship skidded back like a speck of dust riding the wind. Tiva bounced off the wall then crashed into Hemko as the ship flipped over on its belly. It rolled along the jagged surface of the planet. Hemko grabbed her, shielding her with his large body.

When the craft stopped, Tiva took a moment to gather her bearings and cringed in pain. Looking around, most of the crew was injured, but nothing seemed severe. The ridge had saved them from the enormous blast of the explosion.

“Is everyone okay?” Ranndom asked. Most moaned and groaned in response, but at least they were all alive. “Boon? Hemko?”

“Yes, fine.” She glanced to Hemko; he nodded as his response.

“What the hell happened?”

“I am unsure, Ranndom,” she said, softening her tone. Pulling herself carefully to her feet, she moved along the ceiling floor and glanced out a cracked window. A hole the size of Ovvella Base replaced what once was the Mars factory. The ground beneath her feet began to rumble. A cloud of red dust filled the air around them. “Are communications working?”