Crystal Conquest (27 page)

Cruising in open space, Sid felt the
need to see the scout, or more precisely, confirm he couldn’t see it because of
its cloak. He looked over one shoulder and then the other, shifting his body to
try and catch a glimpse. The cinch straps restricted his movement, and he wasn’t
able to turn far enough to see behind the drone. He resigned himself to the
fact after several futile attempts.

Squaring up in his seat, he absorbed the view around him. He
was in low Earth orbit, and the enthralling panorama of the world below gave
him pause. The blues, whites, browns, and greens, so vivid in an abstract way, stirred
him more than any art he’d ever seen. He tried to identify the specific location
on Earth that moved by below.
That’s Italy,
he thought, recognizing the
boot shape,
which makes that the Mediterranean Sea.

On his left he could see the curve of the planet and the
darkness of space beyond. The side-on view of Earth’s periphery showed that the
atmosphere responsible for protecting and nourishing all life below was, on a
relative scale, a thin wisp of gas. Every time he saw it, he had the same
thought—how could this meager film of atmosphere feel so thick and boundless when
standing on Earth and looking up at the sky?

The pressing timeline forced his thoughts back to the
mission. He scanned ahead, moving his eyes in a methodical pattern as he tried
to locate Lenny. He couldn’t see him, any of the drones, or even the dreadnaught.
He’d been in space many times and knew it was hard to see objects with the
unaided eye, so he wasn’t too concerned. Yet.

The colorful presence of Earth, the raw intensity of the
sun, and the dark emptiness of space backlit by a dazzling field of stars
created an enormous expanse of contrasting shadows and light. On such a
celestial scale, even the largest spacecraft would appear as a speck of
trifling consequence. Finding Lenny in this setting was like trying to see a
mosquito in a jungle from forty paces.

To avoid detection by the Kardish, neither of them were transmitting
signals of any sort, so he couldn’t employ instruments that would locate and
track the drones, nor could he use his communicator to call out to Lenny.
Unperturbed, he started a new visual scan, taking his time to discriminate
between objects and shadows.

Absorbed in the task, he was caught off guard when his drone
accelerated. The aggressive movement tugged on him, causing the cinch straps to
bite into his chest and thighs. Grabbing the seat on either side, he held on tight,
looked in the direction he was moving, and sifted through the visual medley as
he searched for something he recognized.

A light reflection caught his attention. Moments later, his
machine closed in behind Lenny’s, which was trailing behind a formation of
drones. Lenny reached his hand out to the side and gave Sid a thumbs-up.
What
does that mean?

When Lenny started looking at the scenery, Sid decided it
meant that the dreadnaught had taken control of their machines and was leading
them home. They’d become passengers on a ride.
But where does this ride end?

Though his public behavior reflected confidence, even Sid
thought the idea of riding drones onto the Kardish vessel sat somewhere between
stupid and crazy. But he needed a way on board and couldn’t come up with better
alternatives. He thought Lenny’s decision to damage the drone crystals showed
good instincts, though he also thought it possible the Kardish gatekeeper might
decide their machines were too damaged for salvage, and an easy way to dispose
of waste in space is to burn it up in a free fall to Earth.

He stared ahead along their direction of travel to locate
the dreadnaught. After several frustrating minutes of searching, he changed
tactics. Instead of looking for the presence of the Kardish vessel, he hunted
for a silhouette formed by the absence of stars—stars the dreadnaught blocked
from view as it traveled ahead of them.

He combed in a grid pattern along their trajectory and smiled
when he identified a shadow near the horizon. The elusive shape was about as
big as his thumb if he held his hand at arm’s length.

The dreadnaught orbited Earth, and they chased it in a
cosmic race. As time passed, the silhouette of stars blocked by the vessel grew
to the size of his hand, and then both hands, and then he caught a glimpse of
the ship itself.

They drew close to the alien vessel. Its immense proportions
made Sid wonder how he’d ever had trouble seeing it. He felt the same sense of
awe during this approach as when he’d seen that other Kardish vessel two years
earlier. Both had a shape reminiscent of a whale, with a larger head that
tapered back to a finned tail.

Approaching the dreadnaught from the rear, the pack of
drones moved up along its length. The vessel was so big and its smooth exterior
so devoid of landmark features that it was hard for Sid to measure progress. Time
passed, and after a while, it felt like they’d spent as much time traveling
alongside the ship as they had catching up to it.

And then he saw it. Light peeked through a slit on the side
of the dreadnaught. The slit grew into a patch and then, as a hangar door continued
to open, into a brightly lit entry. The drone pack turned like a school of fish
and made for this gate into the alien world.

Sid leaned forward and absorbed the sights, gathering information
to guide their next actions. As he peered through the hangar opening, he felt a
small twinge of guilt. He’d led Lenny to believe he had the framework of a plan
worked out. In truth, he had no idea what might happen next.

He knew his ability to disrupt and damage required that he
be inside the dreadnaught, so until now, his focus had been on getting aboard
the alien vessel. With that task nearing completion, he started brainstorming
what actions to take.

They needed to land without being discovered, find a place
to hide, and search out opportunities to slow down the Kardish, or stop them
altogether. And if Cheryl succeeded in returning with help, he had to figure
out how to get them inside and linked together so they could coordinate their
efforts.

The lead drone passed inside the hangar doors. Moments
later, Lenny entered and Sid followed in tight formation. They were inside the Kardish
ship.

* * *

Exiting the pantry into the hall,
Criss caught a glimpse of a leg just as it disappeared through the kitchen door.
From the shape of the foot and the style of the shoe, he confirmed what he’d suspected
from the waft of her scent moments earlier.
Cheryl
.

Struck by the incongruity of her presence, his prediction
analysis couldn’t explain how she’d traveled here from Lunar Base or why she
was here at all. He hoped she had news to supplement his meager knowledge of
the invasion.

As he moved to follow her into the room, he heard a faint noise
from below. Either Cheryl had brought backup—maybe Hop, Jefe, or Dent, maybe
Sid and Lenny—or Kardish soldiers were here. While he hoped it was the former,
he needed to ensure her silence if it was the latter.

A complicating challenge was that, while she’d seen a brief
vid of Crispin, she’d never met the synbod.
I’ll be a stranger. And given
that Earth is under attack, she won’t be complacent in her response
. Yet if
Kardish soldiers were downstairs, Criss needed to get the three of them out of
the lodge and moving to safety in short order.

He slipped up behind her and, to ensure her silence while he
explained himself, put his hand over her mouth. Before he could speak, she
began swinging her elbows into him in rapid sequence. She lifted her leg and
snapped the heel of her foot down onto his insole.

“Shh, Cheryl. It’s me, Criss.” She stopped fighting for two
heartbeats. He was about to explain further when she reached over her head and
clawed at his eyes.

Looping a hand around her neck to gain control, Criss pulled
her back to destabilize her and slow her attack. She brought her hands down to
regain her balance, and he used the opportunity to pin her arms to her sides in
a bear hug.

“The Kardish are here, Cheryl. Juice is in the pantry.” He
tilted his head toward the second exit out of the kitchen as he spoke. “We need
to leave
now
.” With his arms still wrapped around her, he lifted her and
carried her to the pantry door.

“Put me down,” she said in a quiet tone that balanced
command, annoyance, and ire. He lowered her in front of the pantry door off the
kitchen. The door opened to reveal Juice in a half crouch with her ear held
where the door used to be.

She looked up, saw Cheryl, and yelped in excitement. Clasping
each other in a tight embrace, words spilled out of both of them. They
separated, keeping their hands on each other’s arms. Cheryl pointed a thumb
over her shoulder. “So he’s with you?”

Winking at Criss, Juice said, “I moved Criss into Crispin’s
synbod. He’s my bodyguard now.”

Cheryl turned to him. “Why have you gone silent? We need you
now more than ever.”

A clunk loud enough for all of them to hear rose from the
floor below. “That noise is Kardish soldiers breaking in downstairs,” Criss
whispered. “We need to leave here.” Walking through the pantry to its far door,
he peeked into the hallway, then moved back to the kitchen.

“Cheryl, I assume you came in the scout.” He couldn’t
imagine any other means of transport that would make it past the Kardish
intact. “Who else is with you, and where are they now?”

“I came alone. Sid asked me to come get you. He and Lenny need
your help up on the dreadnaught.”

Criss grasped that “dreadnaught” referred to the Kardish
vessel. But he couldn’t envision a likely sequence of events that would put Sid
and Lenny on board the alien ship and have Cheryl here alone with the scout. Given
that Kardish soldiers were on their doorstep, he didn’t have time to ask.

“Where’s the scout?”

“Heather Glen.” Cheryl pointed toward the rear of the lodge
as she spoke.

With her arm extended, Criss saw the weapon on her wrist. He
looked at her other arm and confirmed she had two. “May I borrow one of those?”

While she contemplated his request, he leapt noiselessly to
the sink, scooped up the vials of concentrate, and distributed them among his
pockets. He heard more sounds and listened carefully for clues as to the
number, location, and progress of the invaders.
At least two are coming up
the stairs.

He also heard a private exchange—Juice was encouraging
Cheryl to trust him. As he hopped back to the pantry, she held out a weapon.
“Thanks,” he said, snapping it to his wrist and priming it. “We may be under
fire in a few seconds.” He tilted his head at her other weapon. “Prime yours as
well.”

Stepping into the hall, he whispered, “Wait here until I
call for you.” Moving silently toward the stairs, he saw blond heads rise into
view as two Kardish soldiers advanced up the steps.
Zwip.
Zwip.
He
fired twice, and his quiet bolts of white energy landed true. Both aliens crumbled
and fell backward down the steps, creating a series of thuds sure to attract
more attention.

Following them down several steps, he squatted for a broader
view of the first floor. More Kardish rushed in his direction. The two in front
lifted their hand weapons.
Zwip.
Zwip
. They collapsed, and the others
turned and scurried for cover.

Bizt
. A Kardish leaned around a corner and returned
fire. A spot on the wall above Criss’s head glowed briefly, and a puff of smoke
wafted upward from the impact site.

Jumping back up into the hallway, he dashed past the pantry
and paused at the kitchen door to call to Cheryl and Juice. “This way. Hurry.”

He vaulted up a rear flight of stairs to the third floor. Lifting
a window that led out over the left wing of the lodge, he looked down and gauged
the drop to the shingled roof. A large red-brick chimney rose through the roof to
his left, hugging the exterior wall of the taller central structure where he
now stood.

Anxious at their slow pace, he turned to look for Juice and
Cheryl. When Juice rounded the top of the stairs, he motioned with his hand.
“Come. Sit on the sill.” He helped her up onto the ledge with her feet dangling
out. As he held her wrists in a firm grip, she slid out the window. He bent at
the waist and set her onto the roof. “Climb up behind the chimney. Hide as best
you can.”

Helping Cheryl onto the sill, he asked, “Where in Heather Glen?”

She looked at him with a blank expression.

“The scout. How can I find it?”

Climbing onto the sill, she said, “It’s on the near edge of
the field. The western edge. It’s almost touching those twin birches.”

Criss lifted her out the window, and Juice, holding on to the
chimney, coaxed Cheryl up the tiled slope.

“You two need to be ready. I’ll be back with the scout in
ten minutes. I’ll hover out there.” He pointed at the roof crest halfway out
the left wing. “You’ll need to run out there to get to the scout’s bottom hatch.
Once you’re under its edge, you’ll be cloaked.”

“Hurry, Criss,” Juice said as she and Cheryl scrambled for
the marginal protection offered by hiding behind the chimney.

Criss shut the window and moved fast. He leapt down to the
second floor and almost flew as he took the longest strides the synbod could
muster in the relatively cramped space of the hall.

He approached the central stairway at the same time two
Kardish soldiers topped the steps. He jumped, twisted sideways, pushed off the
far wall with his hands, and slammed a foot into the chest of each alien. They toppled
backward down the stairs.

Tucking, he tumbled on the floor and was up and running
without losing speed. He sprinted down the length of the right-wing hall and
flung open the window when he reached the end.
That should distract them.
He backtracked several doors up the hall and ducked into a room at the back of
the lodge. Footsteps pounded in his direction.