“What is it?”
“I’ve received something from the Belt Station.”
“Play it!” Jade shouted.
The sound of alarms was overpowering. Voices in the distance, bellowing orders. Then static.
The hair on my neck stood straight up. “Again.”
He replayed it, but I picked up nothing new.
“What do you think that is?” Luther asked.
“We’re preparing for the next section. See you in Biks,” Trid said through the console.
The fleet began departing. We could either head to Biks and help liberate the Hidan, and gain the allegiance of the Refuge bunch along with Stin, or head to Earth to find out what that communication had been.
“I know what you’re thinking, Arlo, but we’ve committed to this raid.” Jade’s voice didn’t waver. She was right.
“Okay. Everyone strap in. We’re choosing Biks.” I made the order, and it hardened my resolve.
We continued to signal Earth during our flight, but we received no response. R11 found a stamp on the only message we’d been sent, which was dated a week ago.
“If someone attacked Earth, they could be gone already.” Luther sipped his coffee. We’d been talking this over for a day now, and I was sure this was the fourth time it had been mentioned.
“Enough speculation,” I muttered. “We’ll go home as soon as we deal with Biks.” Zonrial’s comments about not expecting to survive this assault echoed in my memory. I wasn’t so doubtful. I was determined to persist so we could protect Earth.
For four days, our fleet raced through the systems, heading for the Velibar outpost. I tried to sleep when I could, but it was difficult to come by. By the last day, I’d finally succumbed to Jade’s advice and took a sleep aid. Twelve hours later, I emerged, slightly groggy, but grateful for the rest.
We were cramped in the cockpit, everyone caffeinated and fed. Luther pulled out all the stops in the kitchen, preparing a veritable feast in case it was our last dinner. I barely ate; my appetite had slowly vanished days ago. Jade was like me, but Luther had no problem wolfing it down.
Finally, we received word that it was time to drop from FTL. I did so on Trid’s mark, and our fleet appeared at the edge of Biks’ system.
My radar instantly picked up the alien drones using Jinx’s program. Hundreds of them waited near their construction station past the Biks’ planet. Another base orbited the world, and as we’d anticipated, fourteen Squids were counted. The Velibar were still here, and that was a good thing. It meant no one from this system had gone to Earth.
It made the recently received message even more confusing.
“Captain, I’ve managed to locate one more communication,” R11 told us as our fleet moved toward the enemy. We were two hours from arriving, and as I’d expected, one of the Squids began to activate.
“Continue, R11.”
“Yes, sir.” The transmission started. “If anyone hears this, my name is Octavia Post, Lead Chair of the Board. The invasion has begun. We’re being attacked.”
____________
“What do we do?” Luther stood beside my pilot’s chair while we listened to the message on a loop.
“There’s no alarm in the background. Where would Octavia be?” Jade asked.
“Either at Primary City, Sage Headquarters, Luna Corp on the Moon, or Belt Station. Maybe somewhere in between, on a Defender.” I listed off the most likely locations the Lead Chair would be working from during this preparation.
“Wouldn’t we hear an alarm?” Jade was right.
“That’s the least of our problems. What if we stay and fight, only to have Earth already under siege?” Luther asked.
I tried to picture the assault on Earth, with Squids battling their way past the Defenders, aiming their trajectory for our planet. Would my parents see the giant warships plunging into the atmosphere, blasting like they’d done in the fake Refuge city?
“This doesn’t add up,” I whispered. The same fourteen Squids were here. If this was the starting point for their invasion on Earth, wouldn’t… And I spotted it on the radar. “That’s Obelisk.”
“Damn it, Hawk. Good eye.” Luther ran to his seat, and zoomed on it. “You’re correct. That’s Preston’s vessel. Do you think he’d stay back when he was the one acting as the Velibars’ emissary?”
“Are you suggesting the Velibar have not attacked Earth?” R11 inquired.
“That’s what I’m thinking,” I told him.
“Then why did Octavia—” R11 spoke, only to interject into his own train of thought. “It wasn’t her.”
“Exactly.” I smiled as he came to the same conclusion as me.
“Arlo, would you fill us in?” Jade pressed.
“The Velibar. Isn’t it convenient that the message arrived at the same time we did? They want to distract us. Maybe hope that we demand our new allies pull anchor and rush to Earth with us to defend our people.” I continued flying at Biks with the rest of the fleet.
“You’re guessing,” she said. “What if we’re wrong?”
“We’ll fly directly to Earth when this is over.” I wasn’t here for an argument. “Take your seats. We’re going into battle.”
“If you’re sure about this.” Luther got the last word in, but I didn’t respond.
The thought of Earth being under assault terrified me, but we had an important mission at Biks. I wasn’t about to turn my back on our friends, not when they might be our only hope for survival when this outpost was dealt with.
“Zonrial, are we prepared? Everything on schedule?” I held the comm switch.
“We’re on target, Hawk. The Stin will create the barrier for the Squids. Join our Pursuer to the ground,” the horned Hidan woman replied.
“Roger that.” I switched to Killer. “Varn, good luck, my friend.”
More of the Squids powered up their tentacles, departing from the docks. Half of them were moving to intercept our fleet, with the others remaining near Biks. The radar showed fifty flyers near the drone manufacturing station.
“Hawk, I wish you were coming with me. I’ll keep track of my kills for you,” Varn said.
“Don’t forget to send Aster in your
