The Lost Star Episode One (26 page)

“
How did you get those off?” Shera
screamed, her pitch so desperate it sounded like the screech of a
bird being strangled. She stumbled back across the bridge, fear
locking her limbs in place as her white face became so ashen she
resembled an alabaster statue.

“
I think you broke it, Shera,” Ava said
honestly as she tipped her head down and glared at Shera. “Now give
up.”

“
Never,” Shera screamed. She had a gun at
her side. She snatched it up.

It was just a blaster.

Ava would be able to endure over a hundred
shots before it could cut through her natural power.

She brought up her sword and parried a
shot, sending it slamming into the far wall. “Just give
up.”

“
Never. You've taken from us. Made us
small. We will never bow to your power again,” Shera
shrieked.

Suddenly Meva moved.

She jerked towards Hunter, her boots
moving so fast they scratched over the floor.

Ava jerked her head down just as Meva
clutched the electro knife from her hip holster and stabbed it
towards him.

Ava dropped to her knees, grabbing Meva by
the shoulder and jerking her back.

The electro blade spun out of Meva's grip
and lodged into Ava's side.

Her left side.

... Her power should protect her. Her
natural energy should rebuff the blade.

It didn't.

The blade slammed into the soft flesh
above her left hip, gouging a quick bloody path towards her
stomach.

She screamed, jerking backwards as her
blue blood splattered the floor.

At the same time, she threw Meva against
the floor with the superior strength of her right arm.

Meva impacted the metal so badly her body
dented the floor.

It wasn't nearly enough to kill the Avixan
warrior, just wind her.

Shera let out a shaking, choking laugh as
Ava brought a hand up and stared at the blood spilling from her
side.

Shera's whooping laughter became louder.
“Oh my god, it only works on half your body. The rest is still as
soft as flesh,” she pressed her teeth together, her lips jerking
around them as she hissed each word. “And you get the other lock
off, can you, little priestess?”

Still laughing, she took a slow step
towards Ava.

Ava's mind spun. Blood spilled over the
floor, a huge blue puddle forming at her feet.

“
Ava, Ava!” Hunter called as he scrabbled
to his feet.

Ava wasn't down yet.

Just as Meva got to her feet and lurched
towards Ava, Ava brought her right arm around, collected Meva hard
on the chest, and threw her back against the floor.

Stars exploded through Ava's vision, as
the pain grew so all-encompassing it felt as if she would forget
everything.

Meva pushed to her feet once more as Ava
began to stagger.

“
Just kill her now,” Shera spat from
behind.

With a splitting scream, Meva moved
towards Ava.

This time, Ava caught one of Meva's
wrists.

Unlike Shera, Meva was still wearing her
ceremonial wrist locks.

A mistake.

As soon as Ava slammed her right hand
around one, Meva skidded to a stop. Wobbling, a terrified scream
split Meva's throat as she staggered to her knees.

Great blue electrical arcs spun around
Meva's lock, sinking harder and harder into her skin.

“
No,” Shera spat as she jerked towards
Ava.

She didn't get a chance to stop Ava – the
captain sprang to his feet, despite his magnetic cuffs, and he
threw himself at Shera.

It bought Ava the time she
needed.

With a click. Meva's locks engaged
fully.

Meva fell to the floor, in
stasis.

The only way to wake her up, would be with
a priestess. And Ava had no intention of helping out.

It was time to stop this.

She spun to face Shera just as she threw
the captain to the side.

Shera's expression was like shattered ice.
So much cold hatred cascaded down her face it looked as if she'd
lost all reason.

She took a rattling breath, her nostrils
flaring wide as a smattering of cold blue flecks charged up her
skin. Shera jerked towards Ava.

Ava could barely stand.

She'd lost too much blood.

Her mind... she couldn’t hold onto
anything.

And yet she still stood.

She still faced Shera.

Ava brought her sacred blade around. It was
starting to fizz and crackle as her power ebbed.

Shera sprang forward with her own electric
blade, another awful cry splitting her lips.

Just as Ava feared she would lose
consciousness, Hunter called out her name once more.

Her eyes snapped open, and she parried
Shera’s blow. Slicing right through the lieutenant commander’s
blade.

Shera fell against the floor, ice white
hair slicing around her terror-filled eyes.

Ava could barely see.

But she knew what she had to do.

She brought her blade around.

Shera was wearing a pin on her left
breast.

Just as Ava staggered, Shera slammed a hand
onto it.

A transport beam sliced through the ship and
locked on Shera.

Ava jerked forward, but she wasn’t quick
enough.

Light exploded off Shera as she was broken
down on the atomic level.

Ava had just enough time to stare into
Shera’s hate filled gaze before Shera was transported away.

The computer suddenly beeped a
warning.
“Avixan
diplomatic transport disengaging from hull.”

Ava staggered from foot to foot.

Hunter punched to his feet and caught her
just as she fell.

The darkness loomed in her mind.

It pushed at her every sense, submerging
them under a numb sensation that crushed her from the inside
out.

“
Don’t die, Ava, don’t die. I’ve got you
now. The Mandalay’s safe. You did it.”

You did it.

Those three words echoed in her mind as she
lost consciousness, her head resting against Lieutenant Hunter
McClane’s chest.

She had done it. The Mandalay was
technically safe.

For now.

But neither she nor the Mandalay would
stay that way for long.

A war had just begun, and Ava’s blood was
the first to be spilled.

Thank you for reading The Lost Star Episode
One

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Lost Star series is complete. All Four episodes are currently
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(Miniseries #2 of the Galactic Coalition Academy
Series)

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(Miniseries #3 of the Galactic Coalition Academy
Series)

If you liked this
book, you may also like the Ouroboros Series – the first instalment
in the Galactic Coalition Academy Metaseries. Read on for Chapter
One from Ouroboros Book One, Start

The planet
around her was dead. Not a single thing remained alive. There were
no trees, no plants, no life. Just the cold colors of rock, stone,
and metal.

Nida took a
step forward, forcing a deep and reassuring breath as she did.

The rest of
the team was behind her somewhere, and she indulged in a moment of
solitude.

She stared up
at the horizon. Dusk was settling in, and with it, a stunning array
of colors lit up the sky. There were a few scant clouds scooting
through the oncoming darkness, and their undersides lit up with
vibrant oranges, purples, and golds.

Beyond the
clouds, the first few stars were blinking on, like lights in a
darkened city.

It was
beautiful, especially when you considered how different it was to
the stark, cold view of the planet around her.

This was one
of her first missions away from the Academy, and she hadn't
expected it to be so... confronting.

She could see
the outlines of buildings in the dusty valley below her, hints at
what this planet had been long in the past.

Apparently, a
great civilization had once inhabited this world, and now all that
remained was the dust, rock, and rubble.

Sighing at how
sad it was, Nida soon shook her head and realized she had to get
back to work.

Pushing off,
her regulation black boots kicked through the dust until she made
it down the short incline in front of her.

“Hey, Nida,”
someone called from behind.

It was J’Etem,
her good friend. The young woman was not human, and was rather from
an alien race known as the Barkanas. She had lustrous golden hair
flecked with flashes of orange and red, like flame licking through
a field of summer hay.

“What are you
doing so far from the group?” J’Etem asked with a semi-cross look
crumpling her smooth brow. She had perfectly even and shiny skin.
Not a mark, not a wrinkle, nothing but silky black flesh.

Nida made a
face and quickly looked behind her, checking to see whether she was
about to get in trouble again. “Is the commander around here? Did
he tell you to come get me?”

J’Etem shook
her head. “Nope, I just saw you wandering off and figured it was a
good idea to come and get you before you get in even more trouble
than usual.”

Nida gave a
small laugh, then nodded at J’Etem before turning to follow her
back to the rest of the group.

“Isn't this
planet fascinating?” J’Etem pointed out after she gulped in an
excited breath. “I mean, how cool is it that we're getting the
chance to go on an actual mission? With Carson Blake, of all
people,” she added in what could only be called a squeak.

Nida had to
laugh at that. She already knew J’Etem was a major fan of
Lieutenant Blake. Because, seriously, who wasn't? He was a living
legend at the Academy, and every cadet, man or woman or somewhere
in between, loved the guy to bits.

“It's cool,”
Nida managed after a lengthy pause.

“Come on, I
think you can muster a bit more excitement than that. The Academy
is finally trusting us with a bit of responsibility. And
considering your track record, that's a really good sign,” J’Etem
added subtly.

Nida had to
laugh; J’Etem was totally right. Nida had one of the worst records
of anyone in her class. She was barely scraping by. But she stuck
with it. Though she could have quit the Galactic Coalition Academy
many times, she found herself coming back every year.

Soon she would
graduate, then a lifetime of missions in space would welcome
her.

....

Which was what
she wanted, right? It's what everyone at the Academy wanted. They
all worked towards the same goal: space exploration, and the honor
of forming the group of men and women that kept this galaxy
safe.

“You're doing
it again,” J’Etem announced as she offered Nida a pointed sigh.

“What?” Nida
looked up sharply.

“Thinking. You
always get that look of profound consternation on your face when
you are deep in thought, and I have to say, it reminds me of a
nagar toad about to squirt poison on you.”

Nida laughed.
It felt good, but even that couldn't chase away the melancholy that
had descended over her.

With a quick
move, she looked over her shoulder again at the view. Specifically
the small ridges and bumps that hinted at the remains of some
building destroyed long ago.