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

“Running dark,” said Casey, and she directed the shuttle toward the tarmac. “Good thinking.” Using controlled thruster bursts, Casey closed the distance. The asteroid’s reduced gravity felt increasingly pronounced the closer they got to it.

Casey angled up the shuttle’s nose just before touching down. After a moment, the tarmac’s clamps engaged, and they began their descent.

“It’s time,” said April.

“Here we go,” said Casey, and she hurried from the cockpit. Seated within the passenger compartment, Shona and Malmoradan regarded her. “Suit up. We’re outnumbered and outgunned, but we have years of training and surprise on our side.”

April opened her locker and retrieved her tactical helmet. “We also have infrared.”

Malmoradan smiled. “Hell yeah!”

“So, what’s the plan?” asked Shona.

Casey nodded. “Here’s what we’re going to do…”

◆◆◆

The entire hangar bay went dark the instant the tarmac finished its descent. After a moment, scattered emergency lights offered dim, ruby illumination. Casey opened her shuttle’s airlock and powered her vessel down. Armed with ballistic long guns, clad now in their BICOM tactical armor, she led her crew through the darkened complex.

Up ahead near Blacktusk’s warthog, a din of confusion filled the air. Cones of light danced wildly, and someone tripped, crying out where they fell. “Be calm!” shouted Blacktusk. “Drake, bring me the gentleman in charge of this facility.”

“Aye-aye, captain,” said Drake. His hand-lamp bounced as he hurried down a nearby hallway, moving quickly out of sight.

“Wait here,” said Casey.

Malmoradan gestured for his crewmates to stop.

Shuttle Ergo stood nearby, utterly dark both inside and out. Burning bits of plating littered her perimeter, and scorched cavities pitted her hull. A stream of faintly glowing cryogenic fluid seeped from the airlock, flowing around Rinshi’s head, shoulders, and arms as he lay face down on the boarding ramp.

Casey kept out of sight as she hurried to the mphuno’s side. “Rinshi, are you alive?” she whispered, but she quickly discovered the two large holes Blacktusk had bored through Rinshi’s torso. Damn it, she thought. Rest in peace, old friend. Stealthily, she returned to her crewmates. “Rinshi’s dead.”

“That’s a shame,” whispered Malmoradan.

“I didn’t know him very well, but he seemed like a decent guy,” said Shona. “Is Ky okay?”

“I don’t know,” whispered Casey. “We need to rethink our tactics.”

“No plan survives contact with the enemy,” said April.

“Not helpful,” said Casey.

At that moment, Drake emerged from the hallway. He shoved along a gray-haired fellow who wore a brown Rocksaugh uniform. Rope bound his wrists. “Here he is, Captain,” said Drake.

“Good,” said Blacktusk. “Old man, it appears your facility has lost power. You will tell me how to restore it.”

“Can he do that?” whispered Casey.

April shook her head. “The whole network is checking, scanning, and restoring system health. It’ll be at least four hours before it’s done, and there’s no way to interrupt it.” She glanced toward the huddle. “With that being said, I’m sensing a lot of aggression coming from Blacktusk. I’m not sure the landing control operator has that much time.”

“Then we’ll need to act fast,” said Casey. “Malmoradan, I want you and April to take cover on this side of Ergo. She’s suffered heavy damage, so don’t risk making entry unless you’ve got no other choice. Shona—you and I will take position over there by that blast fence.”

“Aye, Captain,” said Shona.

“April, how’s your head?” asked Casey.

“It’s fine,” said April. “Who should I scan first?”

“No one,” said Casey. “I want phantasms.”

“I can only project one at a time,” said April, and she scanned the huddle of buccaneers. “There’s at least twenty of them, and two I’m not compatible with.”

“I only need you on Blacktusk,” said Casey, and she explained her plan.

Malmoradan and April snuck over to the shuttle Ergo and took position near the airlock. Malmoradan cocked his rifle and rested its bipod on the boarding ramp. April sat cross-legged on the deck and closed her eyes.

Casey and Shona slipped through the shadows. The calico ocelini perked up, glancing their way, and they froze. She peered toward them awhile longer before turning back to her ragtag comrades. Breathing a sigh of relief, Casey led Shona the rest of the way to a vacant docking spot and its jet blast deflector. Over the commlink, Casey said, “It’s showtime.”

April took a calming breath, and a ghostly shape stepped forth, passing through the boarding ramp. It coalesced as it moved, taking on Casey’s appearance by the time Blacktusk could see it. On instinct, the pirate captain drew his oversized pistol. “Who are you?” he demanded.

The Casey phantasm drew its pistol in response. “Drop your weapons, all of you,” it said. “You’re all under arrest!”

Blacktusk’s buccaneers looked between themselves as Blacktusk guffawed. “Captain, who are you talking to?” asked Drake.

“An overconfident police officer,” said Blacktusk.

“No, it’s an illusion meant exclusively for you,” said Orin, and he stepped into view from within the warthog. “No one else can see it.” Dressed in stylish swashbuckler’s attire, he scoffed in the direction of Casey’s image. “There’s a binary somewhere close by that’s making it.” Narrowing his eyes, he scanned the hangar bay, and his gaze stopped at the shuttle Ergo. “There they are, on the other side of Ky’s shuttle.”

“Malmoradan, take out Blacktusk,” said Casey. “Everyone else, fire at will!”

“Aye, Captain,” said Malmoradan. He pulled the trigger, and thunder filled the hanger. The phantasm vanished as Casey took aim at the calico ocelini and fired. Shona raised her shotgun at the closest buccaneers. Plasma blasts and gunfire shattered the air. Bullets ricocheted off the jet blast deflector, and plasma bolts drilled through the shuttle Ergo.

“Stop this!” shouted Orin. “Everyone, cease fire!”

“Captain?” questioned Drake.

Blacktusk grinned at the massive bullet bobbing harmlessly in front of his forehead. “Yes, yes, everyone cease fire. Let us see what Mr. Webb has up his sleeve!”

Orin hopped down with his arms outstretched. As he lowered them to his sides, all the bullets fired from Casey’s crew fell to the deck. Slowly, he approached the shuttle Ergo. “Show yourselves!”

Casey tapped her commlink. “Stay where you