Rivers of Orion by Dana Kelly (a court of thorns and roses ebook free .TXT) 📕

“Correct. Her hack will be volatile, and Zella will need to actively maintain it. While she’s doing that, you read those sequences aloud so Lomomu can type them in and check for accuracy. The first line’s the address, and the second line’s the message. I know it's a lot, but they must both be entered exactly as they’re printed, understand?”

“I get you,” said Reggie.

“No subject line?” asked Lomomu.

“No. Leave it blank.” Her branches whipped and snapped. “We’ll rendezvous at the taxi after it’s sent.”

“What happens if we’re still in there after the hour’s up?” asked Lomomu.

Ellylle regarded him gravely. “I’ll need to find a new crew.”

He gulped. “Got it.”

“Now, just a damn minute,” said Reggie, and he brought the group to a halt. “If we’re putting our lives on the line to send an untraceable message, then I really need to know why. You tell me exactly what we’re doing here, or you find yourself a new crew now, you get me?”

With a slight smile, Ellylle’s flowers blossomed pastel blue. “This is why they follow you.” She straightened somewhat. “Very well. We’re acquiring the rest of my world seeds.”

A chill ran up Reggie’s back. “There’s more than one?”

“There are, and if I’m going to effectively leverage the one you collected, it behooves me to provide some proof of the world seeds’ effectiveness, hm?” Her expression hardened. “By his refusal to cooperate, Lord Blösch has volunteered his home world as my test environment.”

“If ye use a seed haur, ye’ll kill everyone workin out on the seas,” said Zella.

“I didn’t say I was using it here,” said Ellylle. “Trionides isn’t Blösch’s home world. Frossivneff is.”

Zella paled. “And Frossivneff is an ice world. We’ll be slaughterin innocents, either way!”

Ellylle gently swayed. “We’re saving the galaxy, and that won’t be painless. All of this has been for her salvation. Remember that.”

“A’ll do ma best,” said Zella. “Ye haverin munter,” she whispered.

“We’re here,” said Lomomu. “That should be the tower up ahead.”

The top half of the transceiver tower vanished into the haze. It stood adjacent to a two-story building, painted drab green with corrugated walls. On the ground level, a single window faced them, positioned next to the front door. From it, golden rays seeped into the fog.

At the entrance, they discovered the door had been propped open, and they slipped through. Inside, they found a crescent-shaped security desk and two sets of elevators just past it. To their left, a half dozen warning placards decorated the maintenance staging area. “That’s where you’re going,” said Ellylle, and she reached under the desk to produce an access card. “I’ll stay on coms.” She passed Zella the card key.

As they moved for the staging area, Reggie draped his arms across Zella’s and Lomomu’s shoulders. Leaning in close, he whispered, “Soon as you’re inside the code base, make an assessment. We only have about a fifteen-minute window, so if it looks dicey, give me a signal. I’ll get word to Nate. Since Greensleeves has no idea who he is, if he should happen to show up and arrest us for breaking and entering, we can hardly be blamed for that.”

Zella grinned. “Aye, Cap’n.” She reached up and squeezed his hand. “Thank ye, Cap’n.”

Reggie hugged them close for a moment more and nodded toward the staging entrance. “Zella, you’re up.”

Zella took a deep breath, unlocked the door, and they crossed into a large chamber. Sprinklers lined the ceiling, and the floor sloped down slightly toward a central drain. At the far end, a bright-red, heavy steel door barred further passage. Rows of storage pods lined the walls, and each pod contained a radiation suit.

They donned protective attire and helped one another check their bindings and seals. When they had finished, a light next to the far door turned yellow. “That leads to the vault,” said Ellylle. “As soon as you use the card, the countdown starts. I’ll announce the time you have left at thirty, fifteen, ten, and once a minute after that until the hour’s up.”

“Thanks,” said Reggie.

Zella swiped the card. The light turned green, and the door slowly rumbled toward them. Almost a minute later, it came to a stop, leaving just enough space to pass through. They boarded a sturdy lift and descended toward B1, the only other level they could select aside from the ground floor.

Soon, the lift doors opened, and they set foot inside a vast, mirrored vault. At its heart, a block of solid smoke stood atop a pedestal of wires and conduit. From all around, recessed lasers pointed at the murky cube.

Zella scanned the walls for a terminal and located a large touch plate. She pushed here and there until it at last relented, and an old computer interface folded out. She sat down and got to work.

“Captain Yao,” said Ellylle. “Would you care to know the source of the world seeds?”

“Do I need security clearance?” asked Reggie.

“You don’t,” said Ellylle.

He snorted. “Sure. Wow me”

Static crackled quietly. “It’s me,” said Ellylle. “I made them.”

Reggie looked doubtful. “Thought you said it was a Greek goddess, or some other nonsense.”

“Those are only the names I gave them in order to present a concept you’d understand.” She lingered on the open channel. “A millennium ago, I finally had enough world seeds to bring the galaxy back into balance, but when I approached the Council, they responded with fear. They were afraid of me. Afraid of what I had created. Afraid of what I had pulled from the nightmare to bring them to life.”

“The nightmare?” asked Lomomu. “You’re a freakin’ binary?”

“Using your MABAS Scale, I would’ve qualified as an O-class atomic,” said Ellylle. “Back then, I was known simply as a god.”

“Holy lady of thunder,” whispered Lomomu.

“Guys,” said Zella, “Ah need tae concentrate.”

“I’ll mute the rest of us,” said Ellylle.

Zella’s speakers fell utterly silent. With a smile, she resumed writing her scripts. “Aye, ‘at’s better.”

“What do you mean, ‘would’ve qualified?’ I thought bein’ a binary was a lifetime kind of