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

watched the lights pass by faster and faster until they went dark. Dim interior lights shone from overhead, and April leaned against his shoulder. They talked amongst themselves as they traveled.

In time, they crossed the bridge and assembled at the far end.

“The park’s right over there,” said Orin. “If she is in there somewhere, you’ll be a lot safer waiting here where she can’t see you. On the other hand, if she decides to attack me, you’d also be close enough to take action.”

“The spheres are going to be here in about ten hours,” said Casey. “Are you sure this is wise?”

“No, but with so much at stake, I have to try and convince her to help,” said Orin.

“I believe in you,” said April. I’ll also be in continuous communication, she thought.

Thank you, thought Orin.

“Good luck,” said Mike.

“He does not require it,” said Nimbus.

Torsha chuckled. “Uh, yeah he does.”

“I really do,” said Orin. He faced the park and took his leave.

◆◆◆

Imperium orbited high above Earth, and Eridani stood watching the viewscreen. “I’ve never seen so many starships,” she said. Swiping through the ship registry, she admired the sleek curves and lines of the ocelini vessels, the Aztec esthetic of the Falcon flotilla, the sturdy brutishness of the sudasau fleets, and the echoes of Earth’s maritime tradition displayed so prominently throughout her star navy.

One starship caught Eridani’s attention, and she zoomed in. Covered from stem to stern in arboreal relief, the ship resembled a forest stripped of the spaces between trees. All her information showed as restricted. “What navy does this starship belong to?” asked Eridani, and she looked at Gretchen.

“I’m pretty sure it’s beocrann,” said Gretchen. “These spheres must pose an existential threat beyond the destruction of Earth, because it’s been a generation since anyone’s seen the Forest of Worlds’ armada leave its home port.”

Shaking her head, Eridani plopped down in the captain’s chair. “I’m so glad Casey left me in charge.”

“It’ll be fine,” said Grostonk. “There must be close to six thousand warships out there, and only a hundred and fifty of those spheres.”

“None of our weapons have even dented those things,” said Eridani. She swiveled to regard Grostonk directly.

He shrugged. “All they’ve been using is lasers, mass drivers, and missiles. That’s fine if you like shooting pellet guns at a tank.”

“Singularity mines, quantum spikes, and even C-beams have proven equally ineffective,” said Afshin. “If he who overcomes by force knows only half his foe, we must forge a more enlightened path when force alone avails nothing.”

“My friend, we’ve got one thing Interstellar Defense and the O-Guard don’t,” said Grostonk.

Afshin raised his brow. “Which is?”

“Quark nukes,” said Grostonk. “Strange matter nukes, specifically.”

Gretchen paled. “Don’t even joke about that. Those things were banned for a reason—strange matter nukes could destabilize Earth’s place in spacetime for decades!”

“You’d prefer the destruction of Earth?” asked Grostonk.

“No one prefers that,” said Afshin. “But we aboard Imperium have the opportunity to seek a path of intelligent exchange, even as everyone else prepares for war.”

Grostonk shrugged and regarded Eridani. “What do you think, Captain?”

“No one’s going to use quark nukes with billions of people still holed up in shelters. Afshin, you make a good point—we’re in a unique position to consider some alternatives. Let’s see if we can’t figure out a way to hail one of those spheres.”

“Aye, Captain!” said Afshin.

“People I trust say they strongly resemble the Caretakers’ ships in appearance,” said Eridani. “Unfortunately, the military regards the Caretakers as creatures of myth, despite any evidence to the contrary, and are treating this as a shock and awe assault from an unidentified aggressor. Personally, I think they are the Caretakers. So, what do we know about them?”

Eridani began to pace. “They can appear instantly, but I think that’s probably a phased matter or cloaking phenomenon, and not their method of travel. As a rule, where they appear, mass disappearances follow. When they appeared on Trionides, no one went missing, but they delivered a stack of crates to the prime minister of the Forst of Worlds. I believe the key to this puzzle lies with her—Ellylle Fenmore. What was she doing there? How long was she on Trionides before the Caretakers showed up? If we can find those answers, we can get an idea of how fast they can move.”

Afshin swiveled around and interfaced with his console. “According to public records, Fenmore arrived at the Sunset Beach starport on Trionides, December 22nd of last year. She departed on the same day the Caretakers appeared—exactly three weeks ago, on January 30th.”

“She was only there for the pickup, which means she must’ve called them when she got there,” said Eridani. “Afshin, I want you to work with Grostonk. Look for anomalous communications, starting with December 22nd. I think it’s safe to assume she was trying to remain inconspicuous—at least until her delivery arrived—so I doubt she would’ve braved corporate security forces. Let’s start with federal transceivers.”

“Aye, Captain,” said Afshin, and he waved Grostonk over.

Eridani activated the comm. “Hey Eleski.”

“Warm greetings to you,” said Eleski.

“Can you join me on the bridge? I have a feeling we’ll be needing your skills.”

◆◆◆

Lomomu paced within Big Huey’s cargo hold. A cool evening breeze blew across the tarmac, up into the shuttle. Lane lights shone in the distance. “I don’t like this,” he muttered. “Zella, I thought you said we were goin’ to be the hammer that saves Earth!”

“Actually, that was the Cap’n.” Zella crouched near a stack of crates, examining every nook and groove. “An he framed it a wee bit more fancifully, as Ah recall.” She leaned into view with her arm raised high. Using a deep and dramatic voice, she mimicked Reggie. “If that gem does what she says it does, we’ll be the hammer that cracks it open! Or somethin like that.”

“Imagine us, saving Earth,” muttered Reggie, and he shook his head. “In the end, we’re just the cowards that sold her out.” He glanced at Zella. “Good work switching the labels on those crates. You bought the people