“EvO, the final call is yours.”
“I believe I will give the order to move ahead. We will try to keep you updated once through if possible.”
“I will remain in deep space so I can be available if needed. But if I hear nothing back from you within a rising, I will order reinforcements to these coordinates. Be advised that there is a huge asteroid moving through Ethereum’s space that is blocking all ground signals to Ethra at this time. ANDI was able to reach out and get help to those planetside, but we are unable to land again until the temperatures rise. This asteroid will probably cause multiple issues as it moves through our solar system, so expect connections to become sporadic at times.”
“I am sure Destiny was already well aware of this issue, as it pertains directly to ANDI. I will have her submit our status continuously as we move forward. Strength and Honor, Father.”
“Walk in the Light, my sons.”
The screen goes dark, and I feel Destiny powering up under our feet. “Destiny, tell the crew and passengers to brace themselves and to remain on alert until further notice. I give the helm over to you, SCOUT. You may lead us through this invisible, bubble-wall.”
SCOUT walks up to the main control panel, his hands instantly integrating into the circuitry like he is part of the helm itself. ViN and I both have just taken our seats when I felt Destiny pushing forward. For several seconds we can all feel the resistance, then, just as Ami Lynn said, it is like we burst through an elastic sphere, and suddenly we find ourselves in uncharted territory, surrounded by scrap pieces of floating junk and what appears to be a severed hull of a Korgon ship. Stars appear in the distance, and I watch as SCOUT opens multiple viewers, recording and logging everything within scanning distance. It is as if we have appeared inside a new solar system.
“Destiny, have we broken through completely?”
“Confirmed, Captain EvO. It appears that the opening we created is now resealing itself as we speak.”
“SCOUT, what do you think has happened here?”
“Captain, I believe we have entered the den of the pirating operations that we were never able to eliminate completely because we could not find their place of origin. According to my scans, there are only four habitable planets on this side of what I am now calling the Void. Even though we are seeing multiplepieces of ships on screen, not all would be powerful enough to penetrate the thickness of the Veil itself. Korgon and the Banhan ships, like Destiny, would have been able to enter and exit the area effortlessly if their captains knew where to go. I have a feeling we are heading blindly into an area we will not be openly welcomed in.”
“Have the scans found any other ships in the immediate area?”
“One as of right now; it seems to be stationary in an outer planet’s atmosphere. I am detecting life forms on board. That is also the same area where I have locked onto pods that are still sending out faint signals.”
“SCOUT, go ahead and maneuver us to that location. Destiny, I want all weapons primed and online. Put the ship on high alert, then instruct all non-essential personnel to remain in their quarters or head to the safe zones until we get a better sense of this Void. Once that is done, prepare a shuttle and inform Qwin and Ember that we may need their assistance once we head planetside if there are human survivors near the pods. Once we are closer, I need a detailed report about the planet’s atmosphere and any known life forms and their origins.”
“Confirmed, Captain. I have identified a race of mixed heritage, based on their shuttle and the records I have been able to pull from their systems, they are of Orc origin but are recorded as a species called ‘Ruk’. According to the planetary scans, there are fewer than fifty planetside.”
“What about weapons, Destiny?”
“I am only seeing the main ship, which is leaving the outer atmosphere now, headed back planetside. There are two smallshuttles that would provide protection and are the ones we would need to concern ourselves with.”
“Continue on course.”
CHAPTER 4
FALON
Brushing off Bikar’s worries, I head back inside, determined to push away the uneasy feeling that has been pestering me since that smell hit me earlier this rising. Walking into the primary operating helm that our mysterious builders inserted into this mountain, I let my fingers and my thoughts become one with the system. Once my fingers merge with the components.
My brain shifts through lines of code as I become one with the compound, as I try to piece together the disconnected terminals and broken links, fixing things as I go, no matter how trivial. Voices fade in and out as I work from room to room, connecting or completely rerouting the entire structure from the inside out. All on their own, my fingers cease moving when I feel a faint headache coming on, and I sway slightly until my mind clears the code it had been locked onto.
Shaking off the weariness, I head back into the hall, not sure what to do with myself. Voices in the meal prep area have me moving in that direction, and I no sooner step through the door than that smell envelops me once again. This time, I know it’s not my imagination.
Tamping down the growl that wants to leave my lips, I stroll through the room. A few of the Ruk females that I have already dallied with giggle when they see me approach. Normally, I would take them up on their obvious invitations, but it’s as if there is an invisible string pulling me forward. That is when I see her: a small, dark-haired human standing next to a washbasin, elbow-deep in the water because of her slight height, washing the early-rising platters.
I watch her for a moment before quietly walking up behind her. Leaning forward, I sniff the back of her head, and every nerve in my body wakes up just as I see her start to stiffen in front of me. “Just who might you be, my little morsel?” I whisper into her hair.
She leans away from me as I am now practically caging her in, wiping the dampness off her cheek on the sleeve of her shirt. “Go away,” she snarls, and I cannot help but smile as her blue eyes capture mine.
“That is no way to be, little morsel. I am simply trying to be friendly, and you smell good enough to eat.”
“Sorry, I’m not on the menu. Go sniff one of your other flavors of the day!”
Her long hair brushes across my arm when she turns her back on me, and I must fight the urge to gather the dark locks up into my hands and bury my face in them. Turning on my charm as I once again invade her space, I say, “You almost sound jealous that I have not, as you put it, sniffed in your direction, little morsel.”
Sighing, she reaches over to grab a dry cloth, then turns toward me with a frown on her face. I should probably be concerned by that look, but all my thoughts are focused on how long it wouldtake to lick each one of the little dark marks that seem to mar her perfectly sun darkened skin. She cocks her hip on the side of the large basin, looking up at me as thoroughly as I am down at her.
