Destiny's Blood by Marie Bilodeau (superbooks4u txt) 📕

lights were out and only the frenzied electric blue light of the tunnel illuminated the bridge, giving her the sensation of being under water. She chanced a look at the tunnel. The blue lights were no longer controlled, but flying wildly, with just enough particles travelling in the right direction for Destiny to ride. The silence was intense on the bridge. Everyone concentrated on their stations and only an odd, occasional shrieking sound penetrated from outside when too many particles struck the tachyonic shields that protected the hull. She wondered what the song of tachyons would sound like were they not in the vast, still emptiness of space.

Avienne’s tense voice suddenly cut through the thick silence. “A Mirial ship is passing us.”

“Probably trying to get out of here,” Lang muttered from his station, watching the countdown to the exit on his panel.

“They’re firing at the freighter!”

“Please stop firing! We are a civilian ship!” the Meltor captain’s voice shrieked back to life.

“What are they doing?” Layela went to jump up, but the seat harness kept her secure. She undid it and stood. Her legs felt like jelly on the shaking deck.

“Our communications are still down, but I have weapons,” Avienne told Cailan, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow. Layela stood by Avienne, watching the small ship firing on the large freighter, its tachyon shields reflecting blue and purple as each shot weakened them dangerously.

“Almost at the exit,” Lang said in hushed tones.

Cailan shook his head slowly, looking at the small ship as he gave the order. “Take them out, Avienne.” Then he added quietly, “Make it a clean shot. It’ll be a nicer death than collapsing with this tunnel.”

“Aye,” Avienne softly replied as she targeted the ship. Layela looked up at the ship, the Meltor’s pleas suddenly seeming far away. She tried to envision Yoma on the ship, in the same danger she was in, but still her mind could not connect with her sister’s, even as tears of despair spilled down her face.

i

Yoma stared at the shuttered window, desperately focusing on Layela as the ship jerked again. She gritted her teeth and held tightly to her seat, wishing she could do something; wishing she wasn’t so helpless.

The captain’s plea sounded over and over again. “Please cease fire, we are a civilian ship.”

Just shut up and bear it, Yoma thought, knowing his pleas to be in vain.

The ship jerked again and her muscles ached from clutching her seat. As the tachyons broke free and their wails forced everyone around her to cover their ears, Yoma’s heart grew quiet. Sacrificing the Meltor and all on board was the only way to save her sister.

Let me go, Layela, Yoma pleaded, hoping her sister would know her heart and choose to stand without her twin. Only one of us can live, and I want it to be you.

 She sat back and felt her muscles relax, waiting for the death she knew to be necessary. She mused over how many she would be willing to sacrifice, including herself, to see her sister safe.

i

“Firing!” Avienne screamed. The word sliced through Layela, mists blinding her sight so effectively she couldn’t see what her vision had foretold. Still, she knew she had to do something to stop it. Her instincts begged and screamed her to, and energized her limbs.  Without thought, she threw herself on the redhead. The weapons remained unfired and cuss words flew freely as Layela’s impact brought Avienne to the floor.

“What the…” Avienne started, angrily pushing Layela aside, when a flash stopped her short.

“Exiting the tunnel,” Ardin whispered as the blue faded, but not before Layela could see the outcome of her actions. Without Avienne’s shot to stop the Mirial ship, the Meltor had been destroyed, two hundred civilians killed.

“I…” Layela tried to say something, stunned by her own actions. Her tongue felt thick and awkward.

Avienne quickly got up, shrugging as she offered her hand to Layela. “What’s done is done.”

Layela took the offered hand and was pulled to her feet. Cailan shouted, “Evasive manoeuvres! Avienne, shields, now!”

Layela was jerked off of her feet again and onto Josmere, who caught her and held her tight as the ship jostled. She looked out the view port but didn’t understand what she was seeing. The space around them was purple, a deep purple, with darker wisps stroking their ship as it desperately tried to turn. The groaning metal seemed to be pulled in various directions.

She saw a few of the smaller ships emerge from the tunnel into the purple mass, some of them quickly torn apart by the vicious matter. She might have thought the deep purple was the tunnel itself, but she could see the tunnel shuddering beside it, a blue, frenzied snake writhing in the vast cosmos as it lay down its final breath. The tunnel turned bright for an instant, blinding her, and when she could see again, all that remained of it was a faint shimmer of blue. In a moment, that too vanished, leaving only the purple beast behind.

Destiny’s engines spat one more time, breaking free. The sky was once again littered with stars, but the ship’s bold efforts had cost her the rest of her shields and most of her engine power.

“What is that?” Avienne asked as she looked at the great purple mass that had almost swallowed them, too much in awe to even muster a swear.

“A dense nebula?” Ardin guessed, although he didn’t believe his own words. Before them the sky stood purple and empty. Any light that had dared to venture this far had been swallowed in the swirling, thick gases.

“Where are we?” Avienne asked, but Lang only mumbled under his breath, shaking his head. His gaze was deep in his star charts.

A few ships floated around them, some in a straight line, others tumbling over themselves.

“Captain Cailan,” Kipso’s voice came crisply over the communications system. “Please follow the escort.” There was a pause. “If you resist, we will destroy you.”

Ardin looked questioningly at Cailan, his