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

Her heart pounded in her ears. Roscoe gestured for her to be silent, and they huddled in the shadows of broken concrete and twisted rebar as a squad of soldiers hurried past. He nodded, and they cautiously approached a collapsed balcony. Ramsey joined them, and TJ appeared soon after.

“Where are we going?” asked Roscoe.

“Grostonk, are you back?” asked Eridani. “Grostonk, come in, over.”

“Yeah, I’m back,” said Grostonk, and he pulled up a digital blueprint of the complex. He guided them to a set of badly damaged stairs, down to the lowest level. In pitch darkness, Eleski altered Eridani’s helmet display, and everything took on shades of green as her shoulder jets softly glowed. Carefully, they picked their way along the hall to a server room door. “According to the blueprints, it’s right in front of you,” said Grostonk.

Eridani pushed and pulled, but it didn’t budge. “Nothing,” she said. “It feels like it’s part of the wall.”

Ramsey sighed and tapped the right-side jamb. “It’s here.” A secret door slid aside, revealing a spacious lift.

“How did you know that?” asked Eridani.

“Lucky guess,” said Ramsey.

Roscoe glanced between Eridani and the elevator car. “Don’t think you’re going to fit dressed like that.” He tapped the side of his head. “Since atmospheric readings show toxins are within acceptable levels down here, you could probably ditch the suit for now. Grab it on the way out.” Leaning to one side, he expectorated another wad of black sludge.

His volumetric estimations are incorrect, said Katsinki. There is enough room in the elevator car to accommodate all three of us as we are currently configured, as well as Roscoe and his nephews.

The discharge he generates is a waste byproduct of his tracheal filtration system, said Eleski. Since he is still producing the discharge, I question the threshold he observes as ‘acceptable levels.’

Eridani looked at Roscoe. “I’d hate for scavengers to find it. Besides, I’m pretty sure we can all squeeze in there.” She ducked slightly and crossed into the car. Taking up one of the corners, she gestured to the space that remained. “See?”

“Right,” said Roscoe. “I stand corrected.” He led his nephews inside.

They descended several floors and exited to a darkened passage. Following it to an unmarked door, Roscoe forced it open. Inside, they discovered dozens of empty server racks and scattered shells of gutted computers. Cords dangled from hundreds of wall ports. Propped upright, warning placards covered a large, oddly shaped case.

“There’s nothing here,” said Ramsey. “This was a waste of time!”

“Hold on a minute, now,” said Roscoe, and he faced Eridani. “The information came from in here, right?”

“That’s correct,” said Eridani. “Grostonk, we could use some help.”

“I think one of the cable blocks is fake,” he said. “Give me a minute to figure it out.” He guided them to a hidden wall panel, and Eridani finessed it open to reveal a stack of relayed data drives.

“They’re here,” she said, and she carefully removed the drives. “I have them!”

“How nice,” said Roscoe. He nodded toward Ramsey, who crossed the room and picked up the case. “Is that all of it?”

“Great work, Captain,” said Grostonk. “We’ve got our own copies of course, but that’s the original, military-watermarked data. That’s what’ll be admissible in court. Do you see anything else in there?”

“No,” said Eridani.

“No?” asked Roscoe. “Where else does this data live?”

“I was talking to my IT officer,” said Eridani. “That’s the source data—all that we found. This is the proof we need to bury Schurke.”

Ramsey set the case on a nearby table and released its latches. Opening the top half, he retrieved a handheld device from its bed of foam rubber. Smiling coolly, he switched it on. “I’ll just send everything up to the ship,” he said, and he approached Eridani.

That is a degaussing wand, said Eleski.

“What’s that?” asked Eridani.

It destroys all magnetism, said Eleski.

At the same time, Ramsey said, “Rapid data transmission device.” He reached for the drives.

“You’re lying,” said Eridani. Eleski created a recess in the leg armor, and Eridani placed the drives within. The compartment sealed shut, and she seized Ramsey’s forearm. “That’s a degaussing wand!” She squeezed until Ramsey cried out, and she spun around to face Roscoe. “You came here to destroy the evidence, not to preserve it! Admit it—you’re working for Schurke!”

“Snitches get stitches,” said Roscoe.

Attack is eminent, said Katsinki.

Eridani tore free the wand, breaking several of Ramsey’s fingers. She pressed it against his rebreather before spinning around and jamming it into TJ’s chest. His stealth suit powered down, freezing him in place as Ramsey stumbled backward, clawing at his mask. Racked with violent coughs, he choked and gagged.

Eleski formed electrified blades along her forearms as Eridani squared off with Roscoe.

“You’ve killed my boys,” he snarled.

“You can save them, or you can fight me,” said Eridani. “Not both.”

His eyes narrowed. “You killed my boys!” Like a bolt of lightning, he struck—shooting, slashing, and punching. Eridani cried out as Eleski moved to block and dodge, pulling Eridani’s muscles and straining her joints. Stray bullets tore through Ramsey and TJ.

With a deft riposte, Eleski sliced through Roscoe’s forearms, severing his hands from his wrists, and pumping him full of electrical energy. In one motion, she pulled him closer and pressed a blade against his throat. Blood spurted against Eridani’s armor. He has been incapacitated, said Eleski. You may resume your interrogation.

Agony burned in every one of Eridani’s joints. “You, you’re… You’re working for Schurke.” She gritted her teeth and slowly gathered her composure. “Make the last action you take an honorable one and admit it. Help me take him down!”

Roscoe laughed quietly, menacingly. “Hey, Captain, it’s been nice working with you.” His eyes rolled into the back of his head. “But I really can’t let you leave with those drives.”

“You can’t stop me,” said Eridani.

“That’s where we disagree,” said Roscoe. Beneath their lids, his eyes fluttered wildly. His body seized hard