The Ninth: Invasion (14 page)

A look of surprise covered her face.  As she was about to say something, a female trooper burst in through the open hatch and scanned the horde of citizens.

“I
knew
it!”  Angela shouted angrily.

Cain and the rest of the squad entered the cargo bay behind her, some still pale from the jump.

“I knew
you
had something to do with this!” Angela said as she stormed toward Brent.

“To do with
what
?” the captain asked in annoyance at the interruption.

“Are you
blind
?” Angela hissed.  “You don’t have to be a Weaver to tell something’s wrong.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Marie said as she studied the cargo bay’s occupants.  “Everyone seems calm to me.  I don’t see anything wrong.”

“That’s just it!” Angela nearly shouted as she gestured to the citizens.  “No one is scared, not even a little bit!  We were under attack and had to jump away.  I’ll remind you that for some of these people that was the
first
jump of their lives.”

Realization hit the troopers.  They looked at the calm and even happy faces of the refugees.  Instead of cowering in fear, they were chatting warmly.  There were no tears or screaming.  No one was hugging the floor plating, swiping at the air, vomiting, or any of the other common reactions to a first jump.  The troopers scanned the cargo bay, trying to make sense of what they were seeing.

“How did you do this?” Angela demanded as she turned toward Brent.

“Oh, so
that’s
it,” Cain said with a grin.  “You’re not mad at him or confused by it.  Your
jealous
he’s a better Weaver than you are.”

Angela turned a murderous gaze on Cain but didn’t say anything.  He laughed like thunder and started patting her shoulder over and over.

“Mother?” Tyra shouted abruptly.

Tyra had finally realized whom the captain had been addressing when Angela had burst into the room.  She ran over and hugged both of her parents.

“I thought you’d still be on the planet for sure!”

Speechless, Mrs. Lucchesi returned her daughter’s embrace.  Ronald stood a respectable distance off with a small content smile on his face.

“You were right, Tyra,” Mrs. Lucchesi said with a warm smile.

“About what?” she asked.

“Even if you don’t pay attention, it’s hard not to notice your friend.  Brent is obviously the most
unique
of your squad.”

“Now dear, be nice,” the Governor said absentmindedly.

“I meant it as a compliment.”

“Tell me, Captain, did the enemy really invade our home?” he asked.

“I’m afraid so, Governor.  Union ships had already landed and soldiers were entering the capital as we jumped.”

Rhea stiffened only slightly, a look of sadness on her face.

“Then I suppose we might just owe you our very lives young man,” the governor said to Brent with a gentle smile.

Tyra blinked a few times before locking her eyes on him.  The troopers all turned their attention on him.  He wasn’t sure what to say, when he felt a small hand pulling on his.  Looking down he found the small boy pulling him.

“What’s wrong, Hiroyuki?” Brent asked.

“Will you join us?” the boy asked excitedly.

“Join you in what?”

“It’s a surprise,” the boy said with a huge smile.

Brent shrugged to the group staring him down and let the boy pull him along.  The boy took him to a large group of children all bickering and arguing among themselves.  When they noticed whom Hiroyuki was pulling behind him, they all hushed and smiled mischievously.

“Not again!” Owen shouted in fear.  “Captain you should have warned us!”

At the far end of the cargo bay, the invisible ribbon was eating the ship again.  The captain and the rest of the group near the hatch slowly backed away from the Wall, a mixture of fear and surprise on their faces.

“Now!” Hiroyuki shouted excitedly.

The group of children quickly grabbed one another’s hands and formed a human chain down the length of the cargo bay.  The girl at the far end started laughing uncontrollably as the Wall passed over her.  The Wall slowly moved down the human chain, passing from one child to the next.  Each one burst into laughter or uncontrolled giggling as the Wall moved over them.  The captain and his small group were so caught up in their surprise at the children’s actions they didn’t notice as the Wall passed over them.  Hiroyuki and Brent formed the tail end of the chain and watched eagerly, as the Wall grew closer and closer.

He felt a nervous hand grab his as the Wall neared.  Turning, he found Cassandra holding his hand, shaking as she watched the Wall approach.  In her eyes he could see the reflection of the nothingness edge closer.  He smiled warmly as he gripped her hand tightly.  Brent could hear Hiroyuki start to laugh.  The laughing was cut short when the Wall passed over the boy’s mouth.  Cassandra wrapped both her hands around his.  As he kept his gaze locked on her, he could feel the tingle as the Wall slid over his hand other hand.

“Don’t worry, I’m right here.  I won’t let go,” Brent said.

Cassandra’s grip tightened as the Wall passed over his head.  He watched as the back of the ship was replaced by empty space.  Looking down, he found his arm ending prematurely, as the Wall slowly revealed more and more of him.  Cassandra’s grip was growing painful as the Wall started passing over her hands.  When they were exposed on his side of the Wall, Brent leaned over and kissed the back of one of her hands.  Her grip relaxed instantly.  When the Wall completely passed over her, Cassandra leapt forward and hugged him tightly.  The children broke the human chain and started running back to their parents, laughing and playing.  Brent and Cassandra returned to the captain, a stupefied look on his face.

“I’ve been on a ship for almost
twenty years
now, and I’ve never gotten over my anxiety.  That was the first time I wasn’t terrified of a jump . . .”  The captain was lost in thought.

Angela shot a glance at Dante.

“Don’t look at me; I didn’t feel a thing.  Whatever he did, he did it without using any Weaver abilities.”

“He’s amazing enough without them,” Liz said shyly from behind Marie’s back.

“I’d agree to that.”  Owen was still pale.

“Too bad he’s already taken,” Penny said as she winked at Cassandra.

Mrs. Lucchesi raised an eyebrow as Cassandra’s face turned as red as an apple.  With a smile, she grabbed Ronald’s arm and pulled him close.  Mrs. Lucchesi leaned in and whispered something in his ear.  Tyra’s brow furrowed.  She then grabbed her daughter by the shoulder and pressed the two together.

“I promise not to interfere.  The choice is yours to make.”  Mrs. Lucchesi kissed her daughter’s forehead before returning to her husband.

Tyra stared after her mother in wonderment.  She quickly realized she was still wedged up against Ronald and took a step back, a mild blush on her face.  Hiroko and Penny immediately started giggling and whispering to one another.

“Don’t get your hopes up yet,” Angela said with annoyance in her voice.

Doug’s head dropped as he let out a frustrated sigh.  Erin patted his shoulder sympathetically.  Hiroko stuck her tongue out at Erin.

“Not that I’m complaining about being saved and all, but where exactly are we headed?” Humphrey mumbled his question.

“Eos,” the captain said as he eyed the mumbling boy.

“Where?”

“It’s the Core Industries’ home world,” Rhea said despondently.  “Their administrative offices and the bulk of their command staff live there.”

“Eos of the dawn,” Brent said.

Cain shot a questioning glance at him.

“Who of the what?” Erin asked.

“Mythology,” he answered.  “Eos was the goddess of the dawn.  She’d use her ‘rosy-fingers’ to prepare the way for a new day.”

The gathered group stared at him in confusion.  It was apparent none of them had any clue what he was talking about.

“So how far is it?” Brent asked as they continued to stare at him.

“Twenty-seven jumps.  More if we have to avoid any Union ships.”

“But you told that girl . . .”

“I didn’t want her to worry; didn’t honestly expect her to
enjoy
the idea of multiple jumps.”

“So, Captain how long will the trip take us?” Sanderson asked.

“Given our capacitors were at full charge and our rate of power generation . . . not longer than three days.  If we don’t run into trouble of course.”

“Twenty-seven jumps in three days?” Dante asked.  “That’s outstanding for a trade ship.  What’s your generator’s rating?”

“Company secret, sorry.  I’d lose my position if I gave out details like that.  Speaking of which, we should be jumping again shortly.  If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to make sure we are on course.”  The captain nodded to Cain as he left the cargo bay.

“Well, that’s odd,” Angela said as she watched the captain leave.

“What’s wrong now?” Cain asked.

“You worry him.  It’s like you are his
superior
or something.  Exactly how high up in the corporation is your father?”

“High enough,” Cain said with the blissful smile of an idiot.

“So we have quarters set up for us?” Brent asked with a yawn.

“Of course!” Cain’s grin thinned slightly.  “They are nothing fancy, but I doubt Mr. Sneaky will be able to knock down these walls.”

The troopers chuckled to themselves.  Dante took the lead as they headed to their quarters.  They paused in the center of a passageway as the ship jumped.  Cassandra shook a bit less than the others.

“Twenty-six more,” Dante said as he continued on.

“Three solid days of jumping,” Owen said, kneading his hands.  “I don’t know if my heart can take it.”

“Brent seemed to calm Cassandra down; why don’t you try cuddling up to Hiroko before the next jump?”  Penny winked as she pushed Hiroko toward Owen.

Hiroko stumbled over a crate along the floor.  Owen quickly moved to catch her before she fell.  Hiroko blushed as he helped her get her footing.

“Not again.”  Doug moaned openly.  “Am I the only one who remembers we are at
war
?” he demanded with a sigh.  “Can we please put the match making on hold – at
least
until the fighting is over?”

“Might as well ask them to stop breathing,” Kindra said with a smile.  “Girls will be girls.”

“That reminds me, what did the Governor’s wife say to you, Ronald?” Cain asked.

“Looking for more secrets?”  Dante shot a glance at Cain.

“Always,” Cain said with a grin.  “But you can’t tell me you aren’t the tiniest bit interested yourself.”

“Who cares if he’s interested, we are.”  Penny poked Ronald’s arm.  “Spill!”

Ronald’s composure didn’t break for a moment; a neutral expression remained firm on his face.  He looked at Tyra.  She shrugged.

“She told me to take good care of her daughter,” Ronald hesitated, “to make her . . .
happy
.”

“Wow.  You two want to share a bunk tonight?”  Marie asked as she nudged Tyra.

“You want to run laps?” Tyra asked frostily.

“Told you,” Cain said with a smile as he nudged Angela.  “Emotions aren’t written in stone.”

“Can he run laps, too?” Angela asked.

The troopers chuckled as they reached the crew quarters.  Cain had been right about the rooms; they were anything but fancy.  Brent had to crawl into the vertically stacked alcoves carved out of the wall.  There was enough room for him to recline, but to sit up would have knocked his head against the roof of the alcove.  As Brent struggled to get comfortable, he wondered if it would even be possible to squeeze a second person into the small space.  Stealing a glance at his pocket watch, his stomach churned as he realized he’d have to get up in a couple of hours at most.  His eyelids were incredibly heavy.  Maybe in three days he’d be lucky enough to get a proper bunk – if they didn’t run into any trouble.

“Are we still alive?” Nathan asked hesitantly.

“Yes, yes we are,” Jack said slowly.

In the dim illumination of emergency power he could barely make out Jack’s face.  His friend had the most intense look of concentration Nathan could ever remember him having.  Nathan knew better than to distract Jack when he was focusing.  He knew next to nothing about Weaver abilities, but he knew that Jack hid the strain of using them well.  If
he
was showing strain whatever he was doing had to be incredibly difficult.

Trying not to dwell on the dim lighting, Nathan’s mind wandered backward as he tried to figure out how he had ended up on a half dead academy on the edge of the Commonwealth.  When he had been assigned as the Administer of the isolated academy he figured it was a form of exile.  Over his long years as a researcher he had learned far too many secrets to ever just retire and live a simple life.  In the dimness he started to wonder if his assignment as been more of a punishment.