Countdown by John Walker (most life changing books TXT) 📕

“Of course.” Gabby cleared her throat. “Um… one more thing. The twins are requesting landing clearance.”

I can’t believe they survived. Rita wondered about those two. They seemed scary enough. I wonder where they were hiding… and what vehicle they found to fly out of there.

Rita shook her head. “They’re the ones that attempted the coup. Deny them clearance and get us out of here. Break orbit and head for deep space. I’ll give you coordinates shortly.”

“They…” Gabby’s eyes widened. “Why?”

“Loch had a falling out with them. He wanted to throw in with the Gold Empire against these aliens invading the border. They felt that was the wrong decision.” Rita shrugged. “What can you do? I barely kept him alive. He has allies down there though so we’re perfectly fine. However, we are in a hurry…”

“Of course.” Gabby turned to the guards. “Get back to your posts.” She tapped her ear. “Bridge? This is Gabby. Deny access to the twins. If they get too close, open fire.” She waved at Rita to follow her. “I’ll show you to the bridge if you’d like. We can get underway.”

“Give me just a moment and I’ll meet you up there.” Rita pointed at one of the guards. “Before you rush off, have those quarters prepared. We’ve got a bit of a flight ahead of us so it’s best we get everything ready right now. Thanks, everyone. Let’s make this happen.”

“Ma’am…” Gabby stepped close again. “It dawns on me… are we going into combat?”

“Yes, are the repairs done?”

“We’re good to go there, but… I’ve never been in a real fight. Not a massive battle at least. Are we… well… are we equipped for such a thing? Can we really contribute?”

Rita smiled, patting her on the shoulder. “I have every confidence that this ship will perform just fine out there. Don’t worry about it, Gabby. Better get to the bridge though. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

“Of course, ma’am.” Gabby hurried off as did the guards.

“There you go,” Rita turned to Zem, “easy enough… right?”

“You’re lucky they’re idiots.” Zem rolled his eyes.

“Not idiots. Just inexperienced. Loch’s ego probably wouldn’t let him hire people that were too competent.”

“Explains you,” Zem quipped.

“Thanks a lot.” Rita stepped up the ramp of the ship, calling out, “we’re good, folks! You can come out now.”

Might as well be comfortable through this next part of the trip. Probably be the last time any of us can relax again for a long ass time.

Chapter 10

Harcourt had no idea how he became the custodian of Trenik. He’d been of the impression that the ervas would’ve been under the care of some military official, a contingency of guards or something to that effect. After they returned from their mostly unauthorized mission, everyone seemed to consider them a unit.

I like the guy well enough… but I’m constantly worried. Aboard the Morrigan, they assigned them to communal quarters where they each had a bed and a private restroom. Harcourt found it odd. He had the keys to the door though two guards stood sentinel just outside. Trenik wasn’t allowed out alone of course.

I’m surprised he’s still willing to help us. At least we’ve shown enough trust not to leave him in a cell. A room like this is vastly superior to the brig. Harcourt reclined on the bed while waiting for his companion to finish cleaning up. They spent the last nine hours in transit and finally arrived at the rendezvous with the Gold Empire fleet.

They were being given unbridled access to the strange ervas equipment that attached itself to the battleship, a thing that pulled the vessel out of hyperspace. Trenik claimed to have no idea what it was but committed to helping research it. Fortunately for them, they had a real technical officer rather than a rank and file soldier.

Which meant he’d actually have something useful to offer.

A knock on the door drew Harcourt’s attention. He sighed before heading over. I wish Lyson was here. I’m tired of talking to all these dignitaries. They’re way too intense for me. He opened up, taking a step back for Captain Markel to enter.

“Hello, sir,” Harcourt said. “I… didn’t expect you. We were coming to the hangar shortly.”

“That’s okay,” Noah said. “I thought I’d walk with you. How was your trip? I hope you were comfortable enough.”

“Sure. Not bad.”

“Good. I’m sure those scans weren’t of much use? Dorian told me they were pretty basic.”

“Yeah, we looked at them, but they were kind of pointless.” Harcourt shrugged. “We need to get in there personally to look at it. I can say this, they’re unlike anything I’ve seen before and this has been my life’s work for the last several years. We have nothing in the database that even resembles what they described.”

“True mystery.” Noah frowned. “What’s our friend have to say about it?”

“Same thing.” Harcourt looked at the bathroom door. “He was surprised by it. One thing I’ve learned about the ervas though… they’re pretty tight lipped to everyone, even officers. I don’t know… are you aware of all the equipment in your arsenal?”

“Top secret stuff remains that way unless you happen to be the one testing it,” Noah replied. “But field equipment usually makes the rounds. Best to let commanders know, especially if they can come up with some creative way to use the stuff, you know?”

“That makes some sense.”

Trenik came out, pausing when he saw the captain. “Hello, sir.” He inclined his head. “My apologies for taking so long. I was…fatigued. As you can imagine, the last several days have been trying.”

“Understood.” Noah gestured with his head. “Shall we head out? My first officer will be going with you. She’ll report back to me what you find.” They started down the hall together. The guards fell