Evershore (Skyward Flight: Novella 3)

More kitsen crowded into the area in front of the portal, all blinking at each other and at us. Several of them hummed with a cytonic vibration, though some of the younger-looking ones didn’t. Non-cytonics who’d been born on the other side of the portal, who’d lived their whole lives there.

Juno nearly fell off his platform. He bumped his stack of books and had to snatch at them to keep them from sliding over the edge. He started fumbling through his book, like perhaps he needed a meditation to calm himself.

“Human!” the one with the wrinkled skin said to me. “Are you the one who released us?”

“Yes,” I said. “I can’t believe…I can’t believe that worked.”

I looked down at Cobb and Gran-Gran, but they lay still with their eyes closed. Scud, had it not worked for them?

No. Wait. I could feel something, a signature emanating from Gran-Gran.

That had to mean…

Cobb stirred, and then he coughed. Kel bent over the screen that showed his vitals.

“Is he okay?” I asked.

“He’s improving,” Kel said.

“Will he wake up?”

“I don’t know. But if he does, he’ll be in no condition to help. We should get them home to Detritus.”

Stars. Of course he wouldn’t be in any condition to lead. He’d spent the last two days with his mind disconnected from his body.

A loud boom sounded through the walls of the library, as if the stone above us had been struck—probably by a falling starfighter.

Zing turned the radio back on, and the airwaves were a mess of talking.

I didn’t want to take the time to sort that out. Alanik, I said, how’s it going with those reinforcements?

The UrDail flights have joined the battle, she said. What are you doing down there?

Found us some more backup, I said. Cuna had bent down to the level of some of the kitsen cytonics and was conversing with them quietly. I hoped to all the stars in the sky they weren’t calling them “lesser.”

That’s good, because we need help.

Scud. Sitrep?

Three more carrier ships. No planetary weapons yet, but Arturo is worried. Something about a bomb.

Oh no. What bomb?

He said he spotted a ship with a strange flight pattern.

My whole body went cold. I focused, widening my reach—

And I found the impressions again, the minds of the pilots, all flying around in what felt like disarray.

No, there was a method to it. Arturo had them divided into flanking groups and the flights were working together, though I couldn’t pinpoint the strategy at a glance. If Arturo had seen what I thought he’d seen, I didn’t have time to consider it. I found his mind flying near Alanik. As I drew closer I could feel his focus, his determination.

And his terror. He didn’t know where I was, wasn’t sure what they should do. He spotted that ship again, moving slowly in a familiar pattern he’d never wanted to see again—I could see it in his mind. We’d fought a lot of those ships in our days as cadets, though we hadn’t seen one since we’d driven the Krell away from the surface of Detritus.

It looked like a lifebuster.

Amphi? I said.

I felt Arturo startle.

Jerkface? he said. Are you in my scudding head?

Apparently, I said. You saw a lifebuster?

Yeah. It’s moving slowly like they do, but it’s headed toward Dreamspring. Kimmalyn and Nedd are keeping an eye on it.

I closed my eyes. A bomb of that size could take out the whole island, maybe more. Such an impact would have been big enough to cave in the caverns below the surface of Detritus—I didn’t want to see what it would do to the kitsen city, how far the devastation would reach.

We’d have to be very careful taking that down.

When I opened my eyes again, several of the kitsen cytonics had disappeared and the others were moving toward the exit. Juno had landed his platform and was powering up some of the floating disks that would let them reach the top library shelves, and the kitsen cytonics were boarding them.

They were going to help, but if we let a bomb hit the city that wouldn’t be enough to stop it.

I turned to the medtechs and Cuna. “Stay here,” I said. “Get Cobb on the radio the minute he’s awake.”

“Yes, sir,” Kel and Winnow said. They didn’t tell me again that he needed more rest. We all needed a lot of things we weren’t getting tonight. Survival took priority.

Juno climbed back onto his platform and hovered up to my shoulder.

“You could stay here,” I said. “It would be safer.”

“You are the Restorer of Lost Souls,” Juno said solemnly. “He Who Hearkens unto Silent Voices, Opener of Locked Doors. Where you go, I will go, shadow-walker.” He still had his platform piled high with books, and I wanted to tell him I didn’t think those would be helpful to bring, but they’d done all right for us so far.

“Okay,” I said. “Let’s go.” I put a hand on Juno’s platform and asked Snuggles to take us to my ship on the beach. I wanted to get a better picture of what was happening.

We appeared next to the wreckage of my starship, and I tried not to focus on the body that must still be lying on the sand somewhere behind me. Several kitsen ships flew down the beach, fleeing the city. None of them looked like fighters, and one was nothing more than a water tank bolted to a floating pedestal. It didn’t move as fast as the others, but it was carrying five kitsen all packed together inside. If the bomb hit, I hoped they could get far enough away, but I wasn’t sure there was any place far enough, not on this island.

The sky above the city was full of ships—Superiority, human, UrDail, and kitsen. I could feel some of the kitsen cytonics—those who could hyperjump—already moving around in the gunships above, and one shot forth a flurry of mindblades, cutting an enemy fighter to pieces. Another disappeared and then reappeared on the other side of the battlefield, catching an enemy ship with its shield down in a barrage of destructor fire. The wreckage fell from the sky.

This was good. The contributions of the kitsen cytonics would give my flight some time to deal with the lifebuster without losing ground to the Superiority. I wanted to return to Detritus for a ship, but every second counted. I leaned against the damaged fuselage as I reached out to Arturo again. How far out is that ship?

Too close, Arturo said. Hard to say without Command to run numbers, but if we bring it down I can’t guarantee it won’t destroy the city.

It must not have reached optimal placement yet, because they were still bringing it closer before detonating. I had no idea how much time we had, but if we couldn’t shoot the ship down without the risk of destroying Dreamspring, we had better work fast.

Have Nedder engage his IMP, I told him. Then Quirk can shoot the ship down and someone can grab the bomb with a light-lance. The safest place to take it will be out of the atmosphere.

Spensa had managed to carry one off once and survive, but it was dangerous. If the bomb was on a timer and that person didn’t get out before it exploded, they’d be gone.

Arturo didn’t like that idea. He knew that was what had to be done, he was just terrified to do it. I’ll take the bomb, he said.

No, I told him. You’re in command. You have to give it to someone else.

The hell I do, Arturo said. If someone needs to risk their life like that, I’ll do it.

No, I told him. You won’t. That’s an order.

Arturo cussed me out, and I understood. It was terrible telling your friends they had to be the ones to do it. Any of them would though. In a heartbeat.

Have Alanik carry the bomb, I said. She doesn’t have to use a hyperdrive to get out. Might save her the half second of communication time.

Scud, Arturo hated that even more. He was…oh, he was attached to Alanik. Nothing was going on between them yet, but he hoped for it.

I’m sorry, I told him. Spensa didn’t need me to order her to get into trouble, but it hadn’t been easy flying with her, knowing I might be the one to give her the order that got her killed. I get it.

I know you do, Arturo said. I’ll take care of it.

I pulled back, away from Arturo’s fear and pain. I tuned my handheld radio to our general channel—I wanted everyone to hear this next part, and that was the fastest way to talk to all of them at once.

“Kauri,” I said, “do you copy?”

“Copy, Jerkface,” Kauri said. “We’ve called in as many ships as we can. We have more, but they aren’t fighters.”

If we sent civilian ships, we’d be needlessly throwing away lives. “Are you in contact with your senate?”

“I am,” she said. “They have taken shelter, but they have encouraged us to defend the planet. They fear if we surrender, the Superiority will destroy us anyway.”

The ivory moonlight glinted off the shards of the canopy on my broken ship. “That’s exactly what will happen,” I said. “I want you to extend them an offer of evacuation. We can grant your leaders safe harbor. Detritus has a shield. It’s protected. We could get your senate out. Their families. Your family. Maybe some civilians from Dreamspring. We will continue to fight here, but I don’t know if we’ll be able to save the city, and at least this way your government will survive. Some of your people will make it out.”

We could fit a lot of kitsen on a human transport ship. We had the one we’d brought to carry Cobb and Gran-Gran. I could go get another or send someone else to get one. With a hyperdrive we might be able to get some of the kitsen out before the lifebuster arrived.

“I will send word to the senate of your offer,” Kauri said. “Thank you for your generosity.”

I believed her gratitude was genuine, but her voice sounded frightened. I didn’t blame her.

“Tell them to hurry,” I said. “I’ll have a transport ship meet them at the senate meeting hall.”

“Thank you,” Kauri said.

I looked up at the sky again. Wreckage smashed against the cliff maybe half a klick from me. I thought it was UrDail, but I couldn’t be sure.

“Jerkface?” Arturo said. “What can we do to support the evacuation?”

“I want FM and Sentry to land and orchestrate the evacuation effort,” I said. “Can you spare them?”

“Yes,” Arturo said.

“Good. FM, Sentry, get as many kitsen leaders on board the medical transport ship as you can. Alanik or I will jump them out as soon as the ship is full. We’re going to need plenty of cover over Dreamspring while we evacuate. Everyone you can spare.”

“I’ll tell them,” Arturo said.

“Are we planning to pull back?” FM asked.

“No,” I said. “But if that bomb hits the island, I want to have saved as many people as possible.”

“Copy, Jerkface,” FM said. “We’re on it.”

I saw FM’s and Sadie’s ships soaring down out of the sky above the city to land near the senate building. If anyone would do their best to save literally everyone they could, it was FM.

I reached out. Alanik, I said. Status?

We’re coming up on the bomb, she said. Shield is down. Kimmalyn—she hit the ship!

Alanik dropped off, probably swooping in with her light hook, and I reached out to the minds around her, finding Arturo.

Scud, his whole mind was lit up with fear. I watched through his eyes as Alanik caught the lifebuster with her light hook and disappeared, taking it up into the vacuum.

She’s got it, Arturo said. He was wound tight, and I almost asked Juno to read him a meditation.

It wouldn’t help. Not in a situation like this. I could feel the others, I realized. Kimmalyn, Nedd, T-Stall, Catnip—all of us holding our breath. They wouldn’t relax until—

I felt Alanik emerge on the other side of the battlefield. She’s back, I said.

The lifebuster flashed across the sky with its three distinct explosions. I felt profound relief, not only from Arturo but from all of us. We could do this now. We should still load that ship for evac just in case, but without that bomb—

Oh, scud.

I watched in horror as the Superiority ships began to scatter, spreading out away from the island. There were more carrier ships in the sky now, belching forth more fighters, but they were all fanning out, moving away from Dreamspring. What the hell were they doing?

They’re spreading us thin, Arturo said. They know they don’t have to defeat us to win. We’re protecting Dreamspring, so they’re going to take their vengeance elsewhere.

It would work, too. They outnumbered us. If we split up, we lost our position. If the battle spread everywhere, they could circle around and fire on Dreamspring while we were out trying to protect the other cities. There weren’t enough of us. The damage would be immeasurable.

The Superiority didn’t care who they hurt, as long as they got what they wanted. We’d escaped them too many times. Now they were going to teach us a lesson.

And the kitsen were going to pay the price.