Starship Revenant (The Galactic Wars Book 3) Read online

  WHAT HAPPENED to Walker was happening to Malik and Saaja. They were rounded up by armed guards and brought to the CIC.

  Tyvelon’s eyes beamed with delight. “Welcome aboard. So good of you to travel all this way. As representatives of Saarkturia, it is my humble honor to have you as my guest.” He was toying with them. He bowed in mock deference. “But perhaps you could explain to me why you brought a human along with you and tried to pass him off as a Saarkturian? I’m sure I will find your answer most intriguing.”

  “He is a spy, and has given us valuable information,” Malik said.

  “Really? And what information is that?”

  “Communication codes,” Saaja said. “Enemy locations. His help with translations has been invaluable.”

  “What need does a diplomatic envoy have for a spy?”

  “We’re not a diplomatic envoy,” Malik admitted.

  “Obviously,” Tyvelon replied.

  “We crashed on Thantos 6,” Saaja said. “The human helped us escape.”

  “Interesting,” Tyvelon mused. “I find that hard to believe.”

  “It’s a long story,” Saaja said.

  Tyvelon grinned. “Take them to the brig. They’ll make excellent workers in the mines.”

  Malik and Saaja struggled as the guards tried to pull them away.

  “You can’t do this.” Saaja screeched. “What of the alliance?”

  Tyvelon chuckled. “Do you really think there could ever be a true alliance between our kind?”

  The guards dragged them away, taking them to the detention center.

  Across the ship, more guards gathered outside the trio’s guest compartment. They opened the hatch and attempted to round up Bailey. He snarled and growled at them. One of the guards lunged to grab him. Bailey bolted through the hatch. He raced down the corridor, disappearing in the labyrinth of passageways.

  “Find that mutt!” the squad leader said with a scowl on his face.

  23

  ZOEY

  “Brody? Brody, do you copy?” Declan listened for a response over the comm line, but he heard nothing. Only static. “Where the hell is he?”

  Zoey shrugged. It was pitch black in the captain’s quarters. Zoey’s helmet lights danced across Declan’s face as she looked at him.

  “Mitch… Jaxon… do you copy?”

  “Roger, boss,” Mitch replied. “What’s up?”

  “Have you heard from Brody?”

  “Yeah, he was griping about something a few minutes ago. If you ask me, I think he’s getting the willies.” Mitch chuckled.

  “Violet, how are you doing?”

  “Everything is in order up here, sir.” Her tinny voice filtered through the comm link. “So far the system checks out.”

  “Keep me advised.”

  “Will do.”

  Declan discontinued transmission. “Let’s go see if we can find Brody.”

  They exited the captain’s state room and headed aft down the corridor. Their helmet lights slashed through the darkness. Thunder rumbled.

  “I’ll be glad when the lights come on,” 8-Ball said. “This place gives me the creeps.”

  They crept through the passageways until they came to a hatch that was sealed shut. Declan mashed a button on the bulkhead, but it still wouldn’t open.

  “We can cut across and go down a level,” Zoey said.

  Declan followed her.

  She climbed down the ladder and continued aft toward the reactor room.

  Passing by the head sparked an urge in 8-Ball. “Shit, I gotta take a leak.”

  “Go in the suit,” Declan said.

  “I ain’t going in here. It’s bad enough I gotta smell my own farts in this thing.”

  “That’s attractive,” Zoey snarked.

  “Didn’t you put on an absorbency garment?” Declan asked.

  “No. I didn’t see any diapers handy.”

  Declan shook his head.

  “Does this ship have atmosphere yet?” 8-Ball checked his HUD. “Hell, we’re at 19% oxygen. That’s close enough.”

  Atmosphere on New Earth was 21% oxygen and 78% nitrogen. It was virtually identical to Earth’s.

  “We still don’t know what happened to the crew?” Zoey said. “What if there is a pathogen present that activates with oxidation?”

  “A 25 year old germ? You want me to worry about germs? Have you seen my apartment?” 8-Ball unlatched his helmet and twisted it off. He breathed a deep breath of manufactured air. It was the closest thing to fresh air he was going to get.

  Declan watched him for a moment. When he was satisfied it was safe, he unsealed Max’s transport compartment.

  Max darted out of the cramped case. He was wide eyed at his new environment. He looked back at Declan for a moment.

  “Don’t run off too far,” Declan said.

  Max wasn’t about to listen to anyone. As far as he was concerned, the Revenant was part of his empire. He took off down the hallway, exploring.

  8-Ball carried his helmet under his arm and pushed into the head. He let the helmet lights illuminate his path.

  He set the helmet down on the sink and aimed the flashlights toward one of the urinals. He unlocked the upper torso assembly, and pulled it over his head and set it down on an adjacent sink.

  The ship groaned and squealed.

  Eddie walked over to the urinal and did his business. As he walked back to the sink, he noticed the stalls were peppered with bullet holes. He picked up his helmet and shined the light across the stalls, illuminating the string of holes. The beam of light just happened to cascade across the bottom of one of the stalls. Eddie saw a pair of feet—someone was sitting on the toilet.

  He felt his heartbeat thump in his chest. Could it be someone from the Zephyr? “Yo, who is that?”

  There was no response.

  “Brody, is that you?”

  He knew it wasn’t, but it seemed more comforting to go through the ritual of asking. 8-Ball crept toward the stall door and pulled it open. He jumped back, shocked at what he saw.

  The dead body of a man in his late 20’s was sitting on the toilet. He was freshly dead. He couldn’t have been there for more than a month. Though, it was possible the lack of atmosphere had preserved the body for the last 25 years. But where was the rest of the crew?

  The tile wall behind the man was splattered with bloodstains. This man had obviously been shot while taking care of business on the toilet. His body was puffy and distorted, and his eyes had exploded from the lack of atmospheric pressure.

  8-Ball stumbled back from the stall. He grabbed the upper torso assembly from the sink and spoke into the comm system. “Hey guys, I think you need to come in here and see this.”

  “Gross,” Zoey’s voice crackled back.

  “I’m serious. I ain’t talking about a deuce I left floating in the bowl.”

  A moment later, Zoey and Declan entered. Their eyes went wide at the sight.

  “He’s not in uniform,” Zoey said. “Doesn’t look like he was part of the crew.”

  “We might not be the first people aboard this ship,” Declan said. “Somebody may have tried to salvage her previously.”

  “Doesn’t look like that turned out to well for them,” 8-Ball said.

  “How recent do you think this is?” Zoey asked.

  Declan pursed his lips. “Hard to say. Let’s keep moving.”

  8-Ball grabbed his gear, and the trio shuffled out of the head.

  In the hallway, the emergency lighting flickered and came back on. The trio continued to the reactor room, but found no trace of Brody along the way. There were four main thrusters, and four reactors. They checked them all. The reactor room and the engine compartments were empty.

  “It’s not like Brody to just disappear,” said Declan.

  “Maybe he went back to the Zephyr?” Zoey said.

  “Let’s split up and sweep the ship.”

  “Oh, hell no,” 8-Ball said. “I ain’t walking around this place by
myself. No wonder they kicked you out of the military. Poor ability to make command decisions.”

  Declan glared at him. “They didn’t kick me out.”

  “If you say so.”

  Declan grumbled under his breath. He spoke into his comm system. “Brody, are you out there? Can you read me?”

  The line crackled with static.

  Finally, Brody’s voice distorted through the speakers. “Yeah, I’m here.”

  “Where the hell are you?”

  “I’m back on the Zephyr.”

  “What are you doing there? Getting tools or equipment?”

  “Nope.”

  “Okay. Want to tell me why you left?”

  “Not particularly,” Brody said.

  “I need you back on board ASAP.”

  “Not going to happen.”

  “I need this ship fully operational. We’ve got 45 hours left.”

  “Sorry. I’m not stepping foot back on that ship. You can have my share.”

  “This is unlike you, Brody,” Declan said. “What’s going on?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” Brody said.

  Declan’s face tensed. “I’m coming back to the Zephyr, and we’re going to have a little talk.”

  Brody started to say something, but then his voice cut out and static filled the line.

  Declan clenched his jaw. He wanted to throw his helmet across the compartment, but he resisted the urge.

  24

  ZOEY

  “You saw who?” Declan asked, incredulous. He sat in the cockpit of the Zephyr with Brody.

  “Sara. It was her, man. I swear.” He was three sheets to the wind. He was clinging to a bottle of whiskey that was well below the label. It sloshed in his hand as he gestured wildly.

  “I don’t have time for this nonsense,” Declan said.

  “I heard her voice, plain as day.”

  “What are you on?”

  “Nothing.”

  Declan stared him down.

  “Don’t look at me like that. You’re no better than me. I didn’t start drinking ‘till I got back on the ship.”

  Declan grimaced. The two were brothers. Less than two years apart. And both suffered from the same affliction—only Declan had managed to stay sober longer, and more consistently, than Brody. The slightest little bump in the road was enough to send him on a bender for a few weeks. Holidays were particularly bad. He’d fall off the wagon, and Declan would always be there to pick him up.

  “I need you back on the Revenant. I need the reactors online, and I need you to make sure those drives are fully operational. We are a long, long way from home. I’ve got no idea what condition the slide-space drive is in, and without a quantum drive, this thing is just a hunk of junk.”

  “I can’t go back there.” Brody was almost in tears.

  “I’m sorry. I really am. It was a helluva thing you went through last year. I can’t imagine losing my wife like that. But you’ve gotta pick yourself up and keep moving forward. I think your mind is just fucking with you.”

  Brody was quiet for a long moment. “It’s my fault.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s my fault.” He said it firm and angry. Guilt ridden.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I was drunk. We got into a fight about it. Said some pretty harsh things. She stormed out. Next thing I know, the police are calling, telling me there’s been an accident.”

  “That doesn’t make it your fault.”

  “But it is. Had I not been drinking, we wouldn’t have gotten into a fight. She wouldn’t have left.” Brody grimaced. “Not a day goes by that I don’t wish I could change things. Take back my last words.”

  Declan watched Brody break down.

  “I’m telling you, I saw her on that ship. She was rotten and decomposing. I don’t want to see her like that.”

  “Have you listened to what you’re saying? It sounds crazy.”

  “I can’t explain it. I’ve been all over the galaxy and I’ve seen a lot of weird shit. But I ain’t never seen nothing like this. That ship’s fucked up—it plays with your mind, and I ain’t going back on it.”

  Declan sighed, resigned to the fact that Brody wan’t going back on the Revenant. “Why don’t you go back to your cabin and sleep it off? You’re no good to anybody in this condition.”

  Brody was an emotional wreck. Tears were streaming from his eyes. He pushed up from the chair and listed back toward his cabin, bouncing off the bulkheads.

  Mitch’s voice crackled over the comm system. Declan couldn’t make out what he was saying. His speech was broken and choppy. The line was filled with static.

  “Come again?”

  “Hey, boss. I think yo… nee…to come s… this.”

  “What?”

  “You need to come see this.”

  “What is it?”

  “It’s easier if… sho… you.”

  Declan got the gist of it and headed back to the Revenant.

  He met up with Mitch in the cargo hold. “What the hell are you doing screwing around down here?”

  Mitch had an ear-to-ear grin on his face. “Wait till you see what I’ve got.”

  He led Declan to several storage crates. He flipped open the lid of one of them. An almost blinding aura beamed out of the crate. It was packed full to the brim of glimmering artifacts, jewelry, and other treasures.

  “It’s all pure trilontium.”

  Declan’s jaw was slack, and his eyes were wide. He stared at the treasure in awe. “Are you sure?

  “My dad was a jeweler. I grew up around trilontium. Plus I ran a scan. It’s 100% pure.”

  Trilontium was one of the rarest precious metals in the galaxy. Ounce for ounce, it was a thousand times more valuable than gold. The treasure in these crates was worth more than the Revenant.

  It looked like platinum, but with a blueish tint, and was luminescent.

  “Does anybody else know about this?”

  “No. I thought I’d tell you first. I don’t care how many ways we split this, there’s more than enough to go around. See all these crates?” He motioned to a dozen that spanned the cargo hold. “They’re all full.”

  Declan’s eyes lit up with excitement. This was going to be the biggest score the gang had ever made.

  “We can have this loaded onto the Zephyr within a couple hours. Screw trying to fix this ship. We can just get the hell out of here.”

  “I’m inclined to agree with you.” Declan grinned.

  He transmitted over the comm line and had everyone meet in the cargo hold. Their eyes bulged at the sight of the treasure.

  “Is that what I think it is?” Jaxon asked.

  “New plans,” Declan said. “We’re taking the trilontium and getting off this ship.”

  “Fine by me,” Mitch said.

  “Hang on a minute,” Zoey said. “This ship has strategic military value. We can’t just leave it out here.”

  “You’re welcome to stay and fix it yourself.”

  Zoey huffed.

  Violet surveyed the treasure. She picked up a statue from the crate and held it up. Her inquisitive eyes studied every intricate detail. “This is Numarian.”

  “I don’t give a shit where it came from,” Jaxon said with a grin. “It’s ours now.”

  Violet set the statue back down, and stepped away from the crate. Her eyes were full of concern. “We might want to leave this just as we found it.”

  “What?” Declan said.

  She looked a little shaken up. Her voice had a slight tremor. “This is Numarian.”

  They all stared at her blankly.

  “So?” Declan said.

  Violet glared at him, incredulous. “Am I the only one familiar with the legend?”

  “Oh, that’s nonsense,” Declan said.

  “What legend?” Mitch asked.

  25

  ZOEY

  “I can’t believe you, of all people, would be superstitious,”
Declan said to Violet.

  “Out with it,” Mitch said. “What is she talking about?”

  “She’s talking about the curse,” said 8-Ball.

  “Alright, enough of this voodoo nonsense,” Declan interrupted. “I don’t want to hear anymore talk about this. I don’t need you two filling people’s heads with fear and doubt.”

  He eyed Violet and 8-Ball. “We’re going to load this on to the Zephyr, and we’re going to take our clients to Alpha Ceti 7 and finish the job we started. Unless, of course, you want to stay here.”

  Violet’s face tensed.

  “Start moving these crates to the airlock,” Declan said.

  Jaxon grabbed one end of a crate, and Mitch grab the other. Their faces went red, and the veins in their necks bulged. The two could barely lift it.

  “We need a dolly, or something,” Mitch said, gasping for breath as he set the crate back down.

  “I don’t care how you get it there, just do it,” Declan said.

  Mitch went to look for a dolly, or a cart—anything that would make moving the heavy crates more efficient.

  “How are we going to handle the Brody situation?” Jaxon asked. “I mean, he’s not here. He’s not contributing. I don’t think he should get his share.”

  Declan grimaced. It was a bold thing for Jaxon to ask.

  “If he contributes to the success of this endeavor, he’ll get his fair share. If he doesn’t, he won’t.” Declan said. “That goes for all of you.”

  Declan may have been a lot of things, not all of them good, but he was fair. And that was one of the reasons his people followed him.

  He stormed over to the crates, grumbling something about how managing this crew was like herding cats.

  “Violet, can I speak with you for a minute?” Zoey asked.

  The two stepped aside.

  “Were you able to find any system faults with the ship?”

  “I scanned everything. There are no viruses in the operating system. Diagnostics doesn’t detect any mechanical faults in either the reactor or the engines. Yet neither will come online. Right now, the ship is functioning off reserve power cells. That’s enough to give limited lighting and run the atmosphere processors, but that’s it.”

  The emergency lighting flickered again.