I rushed to the cockpit. A carpet of red stretched over the main sight panel, bright as newly flowing blood. Thousands and thousands of pod plants thrived by the humid air of the sea. After Ray Simmons had been infected by the pod plants and died, we began a slow and methodical extermination process, fanning out from our main base. Crophaven had assigned me to lead the uprooting of these fields next month.
Sirius dove and glided the vessel straight to the red line on the horizon. He flashed me a sly smile. “Honey, we’re home.”
I ignored his sarcasm. It figured someone as acerbic as me would end up with someone who could dish out his own medicine. Although Sirius’ taunts were sweeter than mine. “How much time do we have before the alien craft reaches us?”
“Ten, fifteen minutes at most. I bought us more time by diverting extra power to the engines.”
“Good job. Ten minutes will do.” I pressed the panel for the passenger hold and the portal dematerialized. Alcor crouched behind the first row of seats. Lyra and Gavin stood on their seats, holding lasers.
My pulse jump-started. “What’s going on?”
Before they could answer, a blur of black legs crossed the aisle and disappeared underneath the third row. I leaped back. Memories of my time in the alien craft overloaded my emotions. Not again.
Gavin and Lyra fired but only managed to create a black strip in the floor. One of the seats caught fire.
Gavin growled, “Some of them hatched.”
“I can see that.” I yanked the fire extinguisher off the wall. As I turned, an arachnid hanging from the ceiling dove for my face. All I had was the extinguisher, so I fired white foam above me. The arachnid fell on its back, legs curling in as the mist settled on the front row of seats. Gavin aimed and fired, exploding the brain sack all over the cushions.
I aimed at the fire and covered the seat in foam. Our passenger hold looked more like a war zone. “How many more are there?”
Lyra shrugged. “Who knows?”
I banged my shoulder on the wall, and a compartment separated from the panel. Digging through the supplies, I found a bunch of masks. “We’re leaving anyway.”
“Good. I’m sick of ships.” Lyra aimed her laser in a semicircle around her in case any more babies attacked.
I threw them each a mask and a set of rubber gloves. “Roll down your sleeves and tuck in your shirts. Cover as much of your body as possible. These masks are designed to protect against the microbes, but you still have to be careful. All it takes is one to penetrate your system. It can enter your blood stream from so much as a cut on your finger and travel to your brain.”
Andromeda’s mom had developed thicker masks made from a synthetic polymer too complex for the microbes to barrel through. Every corsair, Landrover, and backpack was equipped with her invention. In the past, I’d resented her for making it, but today I thanked her wholeheartedly. It would save our lives.
I strapped on my mask and the filter muted my voice. “We have ten minutes to collect as many pods as we can and load them into the ship. Pick the ones that look like they’re about to explode in the next fifteen minutes.”
The ship slowed, and we grabbed on to the first handhold we could. With those arachnids running rampant, no way were we strapping ourselves in. The air roared around us as Sirius lowered the landing gear. We hit the ground with a thump and rumbled to a stop.
Sirius joined us, a mask already strapped across his face. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
The hatch opened, and a shiver zipped down my spine. The last time I’d been in the middle of a field like this, we’d crashed and our corsair had slammed nose first into the turf, stranding my team for days. Andromeda and Corvus found us, and we were forced to run—with inadequate masks—through exploding pods to reach safety.
Both Alcor and Lyra had been with me on that mission, and their faces set in grim lines of fear as they followed me down the ramp. Lyra had broken her leg then, and Alcor had had a concussion from the crash. It was a miracle we all survived.
Guilt weighed heavily on my shoulders. Here I was, throwing them right back into danger.
I gave them a reassuring nod. “Let’s roll.”
We descended into the fields, pod plants rising above our heads into the violet sky. The surreal calm of a mild breeze lulled us into a feeling of security. An exploding pod smashed the serenity, and we ducked instinctively. I pointed to the direction of the explosion. “That’s where we need to go. Right where the pods are bursting.”
We formed a line with me in the lead, plucking pods from their stems and passing them from one person to the next. I stood next to Sirius, who handed the pod to Gavin and then Lyra. Alcor stayed by the ship, tossing them in and guarding the hatch. Even if any of those little spider-buggers escaped, they wouldn’t get far in a field like this. Still, I didn’t want any arachnids getting away.
The pods were heavier than I had expected. Their moist, plastic surface stuck to my gloves. My stomach clenched each time I handed one to Sirius. Each pod was a time bomb that could explode at any second. I had to have faith in Andromeda’s mom and her masks.
I yanked an especially fat pod off its stem. A cloud of pollen spread as the red flower ricocheted back in place. Fog started to cloud my mask. I rubbed the plastic on my shoulder and moved to hand the pod to Sirius. Underneath my fingers, the casing swelled and split. I yanked the end away from Sirius’ hands as he tried to grab hold of it and threw the pod as far as I could into the other stems. “Duck!”
We turned our backs as the pod exploded like a gunshot in the Wild West. I frantically wiped my hands on my uniform. Luckily, they seemed dry.
Sirius grabbed my arm. His eyes were frantic. “Did you get any on you?”
“I don’t think so.”
A low horn blared around us, resounding off the mountains in the north. I remembered that sound from that fateful day of the awards ceremony. “They’re here.”
We scrambled to throw the remaining pods into the corsair before the aliens could see us disappear into the long-stemmed field. As we ran to the ship, the ramp to the hatch was empty.
“Where’s Alcor?” I scanned the horizon. Pod plants bowed in the mild wind in waves. If he’d run into the fields, we’d never find him.
“Look,” Lyra shouted.
Behind us, the massive alien ship emerged from the jungle, growing larger with each second.
Lyra bounced up and down. “We’ve got to move, now!”
“Not without Alcor.” I scanned the group. “Go. Hide in the stalks. That is an order.”
I ran up the ramp and into the ship. Pods stared back at me, their swelling membranes threatening to break open any second. Alcor had placed them all over the floor, two in each pilot seat and three on the sight panel, where the alien ship grew ever bigger. Where is he?
“Alcor Dunstable,” I shouted. “Time to move!”
Sirius joined me, his laser raised.
He shouldn’t be here with me, risking his life for my plan. “I gave you an order.”
He shrugged. “You can fire me when we get back.”
I pushed my comedian of a lifemate forward. “Come on. Let’s check the passenger hold.”
We raced down the aisle with wary eyes, expecting an arachnid to jump out and catch us off guard. Every seat held a pod, and the plants resembled strange passengers awaiting a journey of their own. “Wow, Alcor’s been busy.”
“He’s strategically placed them for maximum effect.”
As we reached the fourth row, one of the pods popped, and we dropped to the floor. I wiped my hands all over my body, expecting to be covered with the clear goop that held the microbes, but my uniform was dry.
Sirius placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “Must have been one of the pods up front.”
“Alcor?” I stepped forward, wondering if he’d already run off. He’d left the team at the start of the mission, retreating back into the passenger hold, but he’d changed a lot since. He’d said he believed in me and my plan. A gut feeling told me he wouldn’t abandon us if he could help it. I had to believe he was still here. I had to press on.
Clicking came from the last row of seats. Sirius put a finger to his lips and we walked toward the sound.
Alcor’s feet poked out of a horde of arachnids so thick they formed a blanket of hairy legs and white brains all over him. I cringed, suffocating with the thought of lying underneath all those scurrying bugs. Sirius fired, picking off most of them. They squealed and hissed, hiding under the seats. I grabbed Alcor’s boots and pulled him toward us. One of the arachnids crawled across his stomach and up my arm, and I screamed, swiping at it until I smacked it onto the floor. Cursing, I stomped my boot on top of the brain sack, crushing it into a puddle.
A latticework of cuts, oozing blood, slashed Alcor’s face, arms, and legs. Sirius read his locator as I feared the worst.
“He’s alive.”
Relieved, I grabbed Alcor’s feet again. “Were getting him out of here.” We had a few minutes at best before the alien ship levitated the corsair. I couldn’t imagine waking back on that ship, wrapped in one of those cocoons while an arachnid sucked your body dry.
More hatchlings scurried into the cargo hold. Sirius raised his laser, but I stilled him with my touch. “Let them go. I want some of them alive.”
Sirius holstered his laser and threaded his arms under Alcor’s shoulders. We carried him to the hatch. Another pod exploded, and another, until the percussive sounds became a rhythmic constant. We picked the ripe ones, all right.
The alien ship hovered over us as Sirius pressed the panel. The hatch closed behind us with a whirring buzz. The beam of light illuminated us as we carried Alcor down the retracting ramp. Glancing up was like staring straight at the sun. Residual blotches danced in my vision.
“Wait!” Sirius gestured for me to lower Alcor to what was left of the ramp.
“What are you doing? We have to get out of here?”
Sirius took off his blazer and covered Alcor’s cuts. “Just in case one of the pods explodes.”
Although we didn’t have time to spare, Sirius was right to cover him. Guilt slapped me in the face. I should have thought of it myself. I nodded as Sirius hefted Alcor up again. We jumped off the end of the ramp to the ground.
Sirius shouted, “Can they see us?”
“I hope not.”
We dove into the pod stalks and ran as far as we could before another blaring sound rumbled deep within our guts. Sirius and I turned our heads, staring at the sky.
This was it. Either they’d incinerate the ship or raise it to their loading bay. I tightened my grip on Alcor’s boots, my fingernails digging into the plastic. Please, please, please take the bait. If not, they could incinerate Crophaven’s entire army in seconds.
The corsair shuddered, and I wondered if the arachnids were scanning the contents. Due to the vast array of specimens in their stockpile, they’d probably visited hundreds of planets. Would they know about the pods?
My heart beat so fast I thought it would rip out of my chest and fly away.
Sirius turned toward me. “Don’t worry, Nova. They’ll take the bait.”
The corsair rose, and my spirits rose with it, climbing to the sky. I was on the verge of hyperventilating when it disappeared into the belly of the alien craft. “Now we’ll see if the microbes have an effect on them.”
Sirius smirked. “You didn’t get straight As for nothing.” He winked, and my heart palpitated. “They will.”
The beam of light shut off abruptly, and we waited, holding Alcor between us.
Sirius gestured over his shoulder. “Let’s find the others and get out of here.”
I couldn’t tear myself away. I had to know before I made another move.
I don’t know what I was expecting. The ship to blow up right before my eyes? Dead aliens to drop from the sky? I pictured the arachnids opening the hatch and searching inside for the hatchlings. Even if all the pods exploded before the ship reached them, millions of microbes would have been released into the air. The arachnids wouldn’t be able to walk anywhere without trailing it throughout their ship on their many skinny legs. The microbes might not be able to burrow through the carapace, but they could climb the legs to the brain.
Corsair engines roared behind us, and the entire fleet emerged from the horizon like a flock of silver birds.
“We’ve got company.” Sirius eyed the ships warily. “Let’s hope the aliens don’t attack.”
Pods exploded from our left and Sirius gave Alcor’s shoulders a gentle pull. “Come on, Nova, we have to get out of here.”
“All right.” Even though I’d saved my team, gleaned important information about the enemy, and lured the aliens away from the New Dawn, I still felt I’d failed. What would happen once the alien craft saw the fleet? Would they capture them one by one like they had our corsair? I hoped Crophaven wouldn’t order the first shot. Our weapons were no match for their laser beams.
Just as I turned away from the alien craft, the air changed. I’m not sure what it was exactly, but the silence deepened as though all of the crystals on the ship stopped humming. I know that sounds ludicrous, because I wouldn’t have been able to hear them from the ground, but I did.
I turned back, and the ship grew larger, spreading its shadow on the field. It took me a fat second to realize it was dropping from the sky.
“Nova, move!” Sirius shouted.
I scrambled forward, holding Alcor’s legs. We plowed through the stalks, oblivious to the pods. Somehow I knew Gavin and Lyra were too smart to stay in the direct vicinity of the ship.
The shadow grew, darkening the sky above our heads. I thought all three of us would be a lot flatter in just a few seconds. Then the aliens will win.
Stalks swiped my face as I stumbled forward.
I couldn’t see anything, and I wondered if being crushed to death hurt.
“We’re almost clear!” Sirius’ voice brought me back from oblivion. I blinked the pollen away through tears and pushed ahead.
A soul-shattering boom pounded in my gut. The alien craft had hit the ground, and an earthquake rippled out from the force. Sirius and I fell forward in a gust of hot air. When I turned around, the edge of the ship lay only meters away, crushing the stalks into pulp. I rose in a silent stupor and walked toward the hull. The ship stood kilometers above my head, so high I could only see the tip of the tallest spire. I rested my hand on a melon-shaped crater in the cool surface of the hull.
The last thing I expected to hear was laughter. Sirius crawled over and clapped me on the back. “You did it, Nova. You defeated them.”
His eyes held mine for precious seconds before the sound of Crophaven shouting orders brought us back to reality. I wanted to kiss him, but the masks were in the way. “We’ve got to get Alcor to the medics. You’d better report, too.”
Carrying Alcor, we cleared the field. The army Crophaven had assembled stood in neat rows thirty men long and ten men wide. Gavin and Lyra were already surrounded by medics taking readings and hosing them down from any pod secretions.
As medics rushed to Alcor’s aid, Crophaven broke from the line of men and regarded me with his old no-nonsense stare. “Ms. Williams, report.”
“We stashed the corsair full of pods and sent it up, sir.” I bowed, feeling guilty about turning his channel off on the way over to the fields. “I know I disobeyed orders.”
He placed a strong hand on my shoulder. I jerked back in shock. Crophaven didn’t even touch his own lifemate in public. Boy, am I in deep. Would he strip me of my title? Lock me up in the crazy ward?
“Excellent job.”
I gawked, open-mouthed, as his lips twitched into a semblance of a smile.