“People of Anu,” a delicate feminine voice said.
Athos spun around, searching the dark corners of the bridge with his pistol aimed. He guessed the owner of the voice had somehow freed the slave who murdered his boy. He wanted revenge, but he couldn’t find a target.
“Your planet is destroyed. Those you’ve oppressed across this dimension have been freed. You are the last survivors of your wicked species. Your children will punish you.”
“Who are you?” Athos demanded.
The voice did not respond.
Their control panels dark, the sailors looked at the general, and then around the bridge at the glowing bulkheads. They held their breaths, and it seemed the silence would asphyxiate them. He’d been on the ship when it was docked and had minimal crew, and even unoccupied, the bridge had never been so quiet. No reconditioned air hissed through the vents, and the floor didn’t vibrate with the eternal low frequency sound emitted from the reactor. The view screen flickered, the last wisp of the Pegasus’ life about to be snuffed.
General Athos watched the earth approach, clawing with his mind at the eroding situation. Having battled hundreds of species during his time in service, he’d never encountered an alien who rivaled the Anunnaki technologically or militarily. He wasn’t ready to accept this entity that the ship’s scanners couldn’t see was even real.
Walking to the emergency hatch leading up to the ship’s city, he decided this could be an illusion. Perhaps the rest of the vessel was unaffected. This could be a diversion to keep the general and admiral on the bridge while rebels attacked the ship’s vital systems.
He tried the control for the hatch, not surprised when it didn’t function. Opening the panel on the right side of the exit, he found the manual release, pulled it down, and then slid aside the unlocked blast door with ease.
A curse hissed between his lips, his hope dashed. The green glow continued into the staircase leading away from the bridge, and he could only assume it encompassed the entire vessel. Admitting to himself he knew all along this attack couldn’t be the rebels, he returned his attention to the view screen. The ship had already completed its descent, an impossible feat under her own power in such a brief time.
The city where he’d sent Pelros passed beneath them, and they came over a large airport to the south. The enemy intended to set them down gently, in an area populated with human slave soldiers who may or may not still be under Anunnaki control. It wanted them alive, but he’d yet to determine what it meant when it said their children would punish them.
He could only hope the attacker hadn’t annihilated the Pegasus outright because it didn’t savor the idea of killing them in cold blood. Such compassion would be a weakness that he could use against them. Regardless, the entity had made a mistake. As long as he had breath in his body, he’d search for a way to deprive this thing of the same luxury.
He stumbled when the Pegasus touched down, but managed to stay on his feet. The green haze seeping through the bulkheads vanished, and the view screen went blank, casting the bridge in inky darkness. The crew erupted into nervous chatter, warning of panic that would infect the entire ship if someone didn’t take charge. He guessed the young admiral had just wet himself.
“Stay calm,” the general ordered. “We need to get out of here so we can assess the situation.”
Athos kept his gun aimed ahead of him, though he expected it was useless. The green entity that had attacked the ship didn’t appear injured by a full discharge of the Pegasus’ armament, so he was certain his pistol would do him little good—if it even worked anymore. He held onto it out of habit. Realizing his armor had lost power as well, he felt his way up the staircase. He could hear the sailors from the bridge moving to the exit behind him.
His armor felt clunky, and the planet’s gravity made him weak. Huffing after climbing only a handful of steps, he peeled off his breastplate and kicked free from the dead armor on his legs. Unlocking the hatch, he pushed it open and shielded his eyes against the sunlight.
The emergency hatch exited out of the base of the council building. Soldiers, sailors, and citizens rushed in every direction across the intersection between the council building and the coliseum. Most of his soldiers had shed their armor, and he guessed the power failure was universal.
“Status?” he demanded of the first officer he encountered.
“The ship has lost all power, and the outer hull and shields are inoperable,” the lieutenant replied, coming to attention when he recognized the general. “The slave soldiers are not obeying orders, and some are becoming riotous.”
Athos glanced up and could see the outer hull of the Pegasus, which was created by an energy field, had been deactivated. His view of Earth’s blue sky was stunning, but if the outer hull was down, nothing stood between the ship and the humans.
“Repel boarders. Seal all access to the city,” Athos ordered. “Have our soldiers take up stations around the perimeter to prevent humans from getting to this level. Pass my orders to everyone.”
“Yes, sir.” The soldier saluted him and ran off to carry out his instructions.
Athos made his way across the city, repeating his orders to every officer he encountered. Like an infectious wave, his command brought order to the chaos. By the time he made it to the edge of the city, only nonmilitary citizens still rushed about without purpose.
He stepped close to the wall at the edge of Pegasus’ city, and his soldiers took positions on either side of him. Humans spilled from the dark holds and berthing on the lower levels, scattering around the base of the ship in a disorganized fashion. They didn’t appear to have malicious intentions, and he hoped the secondary integration conditioning would allow him to maintain control of some of them. Even without the slave gene, these humans had been told from the moment they boarded the ship that the Anunnaki were here to help. With any luck, most of them still believed that and would do what they were told.
Humans climbed the staircase that led from the bottom level to the ship’s city. Athos could see their confusion had made them angry, and he knew he couldn’t let them into the city.
“Manually roll the steps on all sides,” he shouted.
Sailors rushed to the releases on either side of the steps and pumped the handles. His words echoed across the city, repeated by his soldiers. The steps that led up the four faces of the pyramid-shaped vessel released and rolled downward, turning the staircases into slippery ramps. Those on the steps fell and slid into a pile at the bottom. Some of them had likely been crushed and killed.
Kids near the steps shouted and pointed up at the ship’s city. Athos hadn’t made friends of them by dumping them off the steps, but he didn’t have a choice. He had to make sure his people were safe.
“General Athos,” a voice shouted from behind him. “Your presence is requested in the council building.”
“Of course it is,” he said in annoyance.
The royals wanted to know what was going on, and he couldn’t ignore them for long. He needed to get everyone on the ship on the same page. The power failure and forced landing was just the beginning. He expected this green entity might make the humans attack the Pegasus soon, and he needed her passengers to be ready for the fight.
“I want you to secure this ship, level by level,” Athos said to a commander standing nearby. “Do not assume all the slaves have turned against us. Organize those who will follow orders into squads and have them guard the lower levels. But trust none of them. We know how dangerous they can be.”
“Yes, sir,” the commander replied and gave a salute.
Athos turned and followed the sailor toward the council building, planning what he’d say to the royals as he walked.