《Infinite Empire》Chapter 6
Advertisement
I jump into the pilot seat and guide the ship as close to the service station as I dare. I park the ship right next to the docking station on the far side, as far away from the warzone as possible. If anyone were to look, hopefully we would look like we were part of the station, or part of the floating wreckage and debris.
Hopefully, they won’t be able to see us.
On the other hand, if anyone decided to come over here and actually salvage this wreck, we’ll be in big trouble.
Luke is in the co-pilot’s seat, completing a scan of the massive facility. “This station is in in orbital decay.”
“That’s understandable.”
“No. It’s bad. It’s going down fast. Too fast. We’ve got about forty-five minutes. Maybe less.”
“And then what happens?”
“It’ll be pulled into the planet’s atmosphere. It’ll start to burn up. If we dock, if we get dragged down with it, we’ll burn up as well.”
“Okay, so we’ve got forty-five minutes to fix the AutoDrive and get home.”
“We’ve got forty-five minutes of cover. And then we’ll be exposed for about fifteen minutes before we jump to God knows where. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be exposed for fifteen minutes in the middle of a warzone.”
“Is there any way we can stop the station from going down?”
“I don’t think so.”
“What if we actually dock? Maybe we could somehow use the ship to adjust the course of the station, stop it from decaying so rapidly. Maybe that will buy us some time?”
“Maybe. Or maybe we all die horribly in an attempt to dock. Or maybe we die horribly when we can’t undock.”
Ethan overhears our conversation. “Okay, so it sounds like no matter what we do, we all die horribly. That about sum it up?”
Mason and Skylar finally make it back to the bridge. I breathe a very big sigh of relief.
“It’s about time,” Wren says. “What’s the situation in the cargo hold?”
“There is no situation,” Mason answers.
Wren cocks her head to the side. “No situation? What does that mean?”
“There was nothing back there,” Skylar says. “The ship is fried. It’s glitching out. Something must’ve happened to the ship’s systems when we jumped.”
“Either that, or we’ve got a couple of ghosts on board,” Mason says, and I can’t quite tell if he’s joking or not.
Advertisement
Skylar then turns to me. “Is it true. Is Jess…”
I nod my head.
Mason says, “Shoot me straight, John. Are we going to die here? Don’t lie to me, to us. I know when you’re lying.”
“I’m not going to lie to you. I promise, I can fix this. I can get us home.” I stand up from the pilot’s seat and address the group because I feel like I need to be some kind of leader right now. “But yes, we are in danger. So you need to do exactly as I say, okay? Actually, scrap that. Wren and Mason. You guys are the ones with the experience. It appears we’ve jumped into a warzone, so I think you guys should be in charge. At least for the moment. Luke, Skylar, and myself, we’ll figure out what is wrong with the AutoDrive. And the JumpDrive.”
And the fact that the ship has registered a couple of stowaways. Or ghosts. Or whatever.
“You got it, John,” Mason says, as he looks out over the derelict station. “My first suggestion would be to not dock with that currently crumbling piece of wreckage.”
I convince myself that if we listen to Wren and Mason, follow their instructions, no one else will get hurt. They’ve trained their whole lives for situations just like this.
Well, maybe not exactly like this.
Luke and Skylar are scared. They didn’t sign up for this. Ethan is probably scared as well. But right now, he’s more concerned with how much money he is currently paying in overtime.
Skylar still can’t believe Jess is gone. That she’s not coming back. “John, why were you ejected from the ship? Why was Jess ejected with you?”
“I have no idea,” I say. “One minute we were on board, the next minute we were in free fall. We must’ve fallen for five minutes, maybe longer. It felt like forever.”
Falling forever. That’s a good way to describe what is currently happening.
“But the safety protocols aren’t supposed to just eject you from the bridge for no goddamn reason.” Skylar turns to Wren, and despite Wren’s obvious height and strength advantage, Skylar goes right off. “You. You’re supposed to be in charge of security. You didn’t bother to check the safety protocols before today? You’re ex-DarkSky for crying out loud. Start acting like it. You should’ve…”
Wren does not take a backward step. “What? What should I have done? The safety protocols malfunctioned, just like everything else on this piece of junk. And besides, I’m not the one who got us into this mess.”
Advertisement
“And if you don’t do something soon, you won’t be around to get us out of this mess,” Skylar says.
“Is that a threat?”
“I’m asking you, begging you to help. Please. You’re an enhanced super soldier for God’s sake. You’ve got experience. Help us!”
Wren looks at Ethan. He gives a slight nod, like she was just waiting for the order. Like he was saying, yeah it’s okay to help out. Go ahead. Might as well, this is what I’m paying you for.
“Is that how it works?” Skylar asks. “He says jump and you say how high?”
“Ethan’s in charge here. Not you. Not John. Ethan is the one who paid for all of this. You need to get that through your thick cybernetically enhance skull!”
“Ethan’s in charge of this mission, is he? Does he know how to fly the ship? Does he even know how to operate his ExoSuit yet?”
“Does anyone know how to fly the ship? We’re lost! The AutoDrive is broken. And besides, Ethan is the one paying your ridiculous salary. That’s right. I know what you’re charging these days. And might I add, you are way overpriced for what you bring to the table, which is as of right now, a whole lot of nothing! So, if you want a job when you get back home, you better calm the hell down.”
“We’re in the middle of a warzone! In space! One stray hit and we are dead. We’ll all be sucked out in the cold vacuum of space, and ExoSuit or not, we will die a horrible death. You think I’m worried about my job? You think I’m worried about the going rate of astronautical engineers? I’m trying to keep us alive. And you need to do the same.”
Ethan steps between the two. “Calm down. Both of you.” But then he says, “Maybe you should be worried about your job, Skylar. Maybe you are overpaid.”
Mason grabs Ethan and throws him to the other side of the bridge. “I’d say that’s about enough of that.”
Ethan scrambles to his feet, but Mason pushes him back down. “I’ve got one simple task for you.”
“Hey! I’m paying your salary as well, Mason. You just remember that.”
“And now I’m doing what you’re paying me to do. So, do you want to know what I need you to do right now?”
“What?”
“I need you to stop making things worse. Can you do that for me?”
Mason grabs Ethan by the collar, lifts him off the ground. Effortless. Like the artificial gravity had cut out.
Wren steps forward to help Ethan, or break Mason in half. But Ethan hold his hand up, telling her to stop. “Fine,” he says. “I’ll calm down. I’m sorry. It’s just given the circumstances, I’m feeling a little stressed out. Surely you can understand that?”
“I can totally understand that, boss.”
Luke is looking up at Mason. He is in awe of his size, strength. The fact that he has been out here before, on the edge of space, the fact that he is not currently falling apart. Luke says, “I think Mason should be in charge. Sorry, John. Sorry, Ethan.”
I say, “I agree. Mason has got the experience. He should definitely be in charge. And Wren. They’re both enhanced. They’re both capable.”
Ethan shakes his head. “You want Mason to be in charge of this whole operation? He’s a grunt! And I’m not paying Wren to be in charge. I’m paying her to protect me. And everyone. The whole crew. The whole investment.”
“Nice save,” Skylar says.
“You’re right, Ethan,” Mason says. I’m a grunt. I was trained for this. Drilled for this. And with all due respect, you’ve got no other options right now. Me and Wren. We’re your best chance of suriving this. And I’m the only one who has served with the Empire. I’m the only one who has ever been out of the solar system.”
“He’s right,” I say. “Mason has served with the Empire. He has off-world experience. Military experience. Combat experience. The moment we got lost, the moment we left our solar system, the moment Jess was killed, this became Mason’s show. And Wren’s. We follow their orders. We do what they say and maybe we get out of this alive. Maybe we get home before we run out of air.”
Before anyone can further argue the point, the proximity alarm is tripped again.
The ship tells us there is someone, something on the derelict station.
It is coming this way.
Advertisement
The Jinni and The Isekai
Jinni babes, isekai samurai, dungeons and quests! What's not to like?Below you can find the individual blurbs for each of the books/arcs in the series. Please don't forget to follow, rate, and if you're feeling like a true adventurer, to write a review! The Jinni and The Isekai (The Jinni and The Isekai, #1) Shiro Takeda, a samurai deep in debt and forced into a swashbuckler’s life, wanders in search of dungeons to raid so he can pay back his loans. Unfortunately, his lenders have already sent headsmen after him. His fortunes change when he finds a piece of legendary loot—a jinni lamp. But before the insolent spirit can bestow her gifts upon him, Shiro must find and kill the Jinni’s current master; a sultan of vast wealth, power and harems. Perhaps with the help of his newfound companion, Shiro can discover who isekaied him into this strange land. * * * The Black Cobra of Mar’a Thul (The Jinni and The Isekai, #2) With his new companion, Jessamine, Shiro finds himself in Darshunn, the shining jewel of the Abassir Empire on a quest to find a way to sever Jessamine’s bond with her master Darius. With her full powers, surely they can work together to discover the mystery behind who isekaid Shiro into these lands, but all goes awry when the samurai is confronted by the Black Cobra of Mar’a Thul, a top-tier adventurer working for the vizier Faridoon al Rashik. * * * Coil and Strike (The Jinni and The Isekai, #3) After arriving in Darshuun and losing Jessamine to the Sultan Darius, things couldn’t be worse. Jessamine was unresponsive when Shiro last saw the lamp. But he can’t go back to save her. Not yet. Because first Shiro must set out with a top-tier adventurer known as the Black Cobra of Mar’a Thul in a desperate effort to rescue Ali before he’s tortured and executed. *** The Sultan of Darshuun (The Jinni and the Isekai, #4) With the help of Ali and Debaku, Shiro has found the top-tier adventurer, Razul in the dungeon of Azurbadan. Now with the strength to fight Darius and his Scorpion Guard, it is time for the group to come up with a plan to get into the Sultan’s Palace to find the lamp and rescue Jessamine.
8 182Interstellar Domination
Jonathan always dreamed of living life beyond the humdrum constraints of modern civilization. After his untimely death, he'll have that chance... but it's up to him whether it turns out to be a dream or a nightmare. Jonathan was reborn into a world of interstellar civilization. A world of fantastic abilities. A world of great danger. A world where enormous mecha are the king of the battlefield. To become the king of mech pilots, Johnathan must climb to the top, step by step.
8 99Legend of the Void Walker
A former delinquent, Cloud Alistair found himself in a chain of unfortunate events. First, he got kicked out of college due to a false accusation and then chased down by a group of thugs. Just when he thought he was safe, he suddenly got sucked through a portal and stuck inside the void where there is nothing to see but land stretching as far as the eye can see and the endless ocean of stars up above. Will he be able to escape and find his way back home? Or will he perish in this godforsaken land? *Inspired by reading savage divinity so no OP MC. Also please forgive me if my English is not good. Not my native language. This is my first story and I welcome constructive criticism. The story will also be posted in Royal road.
8 217Beyond Tomorrow
The galactic war has shaken the galaxy since prehistory, but mankind knew nothing of it. Like most of the truths of the universe, it was kept secret. Among the travelers arriving in New Westminster in 1879 is Cylas Renford of Indiana, a man seeking his fortune after trying a long string of trades. His new friend and companion, Morninghawk, warns him of strange occurrences in the wilderness and the myth of a secret people, but Cylas fails to heed the warnings. An innocent walk in the woods and a series of coincidences will bring Cylas face to face with criminals, monsters, startling weapons, the secret people, and will culminate in being propelled Beyond Tomorrow. Written in the tradition of American dime novels of the 19th century and the planetary fantasies of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Beyond Tomorrow is a pulpy first person tale of adventure in a future where the world itself has become an alien place. This LGBTQ adventure has a gay male protagonist and is non-explicit, in keeping with 19th century pulp writing. This work has been broken into sub-chapters for its posting here and will be updated regularly.
8 87Wake now in the fire.
Book 2 in the Fire Series. Centuries ago she fell to Earth in a land of deserts. She lay in pools of molten glass where the sand had melted beneath her, with no understanding of what she was or from where she had come.
8 154Give Light to Dark Thoughts
When the heart bleeds and nothing can heal it, the only thing left to do is write. Thoughts are volatile, sometimes they are cruel and other times are kind, nevertheless both are needed. If the pain didn't exist no one would know what happiness feels like. This book of poems is the moments when just for a second dark is all that it is, so why not share and give it light, hopefully someone will feel identify with at least one poem.Not all the poem will be in a negative connotation, and the images I put will be from Pinterest.
8 150