James Somers - The rise of Lucin

Huge bolts of blaster fire pummeled the shields of the first transport. It had to be a big warship out there beyond the open bay door-nothing else could bring down that kind of firepower. Grod used the advantage of their smaller size to move the Equinox ahead of the third transport in line to get out. The Equinox glided under the belly of the second ship as more laser fire slammed into the first ship.

As the Equinox slipped between the ground and the second transport two Vorn battle cruisers hovered overhead. The warships blasted both of the transports that had emerged from the hangar bay. One of the Vorn ships launched a barrage of missiles that spiraled individually on track for the first Guniran transport which lost shield power. The missiles scattered along its forward bridge section and along the top and sides of the vessel, pitting it badly with multiple explosions and penetrating the hull.

The first Guniran transport began to drop out of the sky much faster than it had ascended. With a short fall it plowed into the ground creating a thunderous roar felt throughout the hull of the Equinox. Grod kept the ship low to the ground while the other transport climbed for more altitude under continuous fire from the Vorn warships.

Wynn sat at the weapons control console, using their limited fire power as best as he could, but it just wasn't enough to fight a heavy cruiser. Evasion was their only recourse. The warships concentrated their efforts on the big transports. Grod veered hard to port to keep away from a near strafe line that scorched the ground behind them. A crashing sounded from back in the crew cabin area.

"What was that?" Tiet asked.

"I'll check on it, Father."

"I'll go with him," Jael said as he unfastened his flight harness.

The pair made their way to the rear hall behind the bridge compartment, bracing themselves against the walls at regular intervals to counter Grod's evasive maneuvering.

Kale sensed a stowaway in his own compartment. The auto-door slid away to reveal a surprising guest.

"Aija, sir. What are you doing here?" Kale asked.

"Planning to leave, the same as you," he said trying to steady himself against the gravitational forces in play throughout the ship.

"We expected that you had evacuated aboard one of the Guniran transports," Jael said.

"And well I would have, but the Lord bid me to enter your ship before takeoff."

"I don't understand."

"Young master Kale, there is much work to be done, but we must get to the right place to do it. Are we ready to make a transgate jump?"

"No, we're trying to evade the warships."

The prophet pushed past him, heading for the bridge-his cane tapping the metal flooring in time with his stride.

"Aija?!" Tiet exclaimed. "How did you-"

"My King, we must jump to Draconis immediately."

"But-"

"Please, there isn't time to explain."

Tiet locked eyes with the prophet. "Grod, we've got to jump to Draconis."

"I'd be happy to be anywhere besides here, but I can't program the sequence right now," he said as he fought the ship's controls.

Wynn's flight chair tracked sideways to the transgate controls at the science station. He began setting coordinates for the jump by reinitiating the same coordinates they had used for the recall gate to rescue Kale and the others before.

"We're running out of room fast," Grod said as the Equinox approached a huge mountain range. The ship skimmed just above the tree line trying to remain elusive with the warships after them. Grod spun the ship around and headed back toward the cruisers pursuing them. A total of six now had them in pursuit.

"If you're going to do it, you had better make it fast," Grod said.

Wynn finalized the command sequence and tapped the initiate button. The ship began to stream through a self made tunnel of light as they came upon the Vorn cruisers fast. Just before they would have collided with the warships, the trailing photons enveloped the Equinox completely. They disappeared.

A pungent stench filled their nostrils as they exited the Equinox-the aroma of decay, the scent of death. Kale was glad that Juli was sleeping again-she wouldn't have been able to handle the sight of all this-her former civilization in ruins like this.

Sector City appeared much different than when they had left it three months ago. It looked like intense fighting had taken place all over the city. Nothing moved that wasn't carried on the wind and the only people visible were the multitudes strewn in the streets and even the carrion feeders had long since given up on them.

The tall buildings had toppled in some cases and one might have counted the unbroken window panes on the fingers of one hand. Kale tried to remember where their shuttle had crashed months before, but it was so difficult to discern what had been before all of this devastation.

The boys walked off of the ramp with Wynn and Grod following. The streets had been so littered with debris that finding a level place to land had been almost impossible.

The Prophet had chosen to remain in the ship and still had not commented further on why they were required to return to Draconis. Kale's parents remained on board as well with Juli. The Horva soldiers, Jael and Merab, remained to protect the king.

Tiet wouldn't have liked that. They had barely persuaded him to remain on board at all. Fortunately his injuries still bothered him more than his pride. The limited medical facilities, both within the Guniran province and onboard the ship, had slowed his healing quite a bit.

"Should we split up?" Emil asked.

"No. If we do run into those Agonotti, we'll all need as much help as we can get," Wynn said.

The group surveyed for survivors and any supplies they might be able to use. Medical supplies were especially in need, but the ship was well outfitted with food and water.

"Just mouth-breath, boys," Wynn said. The smell was nauseating. The ramp closed behind them in order to relieve those still onboard from the stench.

The landing party moved cautiously between bodies and debris. They walked toward a group of buildings several blocks away that appeared structurally sound, at least from a distance. They tried to avoid looking at the people. The faces contorted into nightmarish expressions-the epitaph of a doomed city.

Mirah made sure her husband remained sedated and resting comfortably. She had spiked his pain meds a little, but it was for his good. He never would have let Kale go out without him into the city-especially not after almost losing him. Their parental roles had reversed since Kale's return. Mirah had much more confidence in her son's ability and Tiet acted as the protective parent. Juli also slept and Mirah thought of getting some rest as well. But she had to remain alert in case something happened.

She sank into a chair next to Tiet's bed and sighed loudly. The pillow under her husband's head certainly looked comfortable. The bumps and bruises, sustained from the impact of their rail car in the hangar bay ached all over her body. She closed her eyes for a moment, just to rest them. Unconsciousness took advantage of the opportunity and soon she was fast asleep.

Aija sat at a table in the crew galley eating one of the quick preparation meals kept frozen in the cold locker. Jael watched him curiously from across the room. He had a question burning in his mind that only the prophet might be able to answer, but how to approach him, he wasn't sure. Directly was the only way he had ever done anything and prophet or no, he needed some answers.

He got up from his seat and carried his meal over to Aija's table and sat down in front of the prophet.

"You wish to ask me something, Jael?" Aija asked.