Gate Quest (Star Kingdom Book 5) Read online

  “Trouble coming, sir.” The man pointed to the display. “We’ve got some humans or mostly humans heading our way. They’ve got a winding route through some tunnels, it looks like, but they’re coming fast. Might be on transportation of some kind. Or riding their robots.”

  Rache only nodded. “We expected another fight.”

  “Any chance of getting their robots knocked offline again?” The man looked hopefully toward Casmir.

  “Our robot wrangler is on another mission. We’ll have to deal with this. Tell Dark Tom’s team to stay and guard those tunnels while we make sure nothing comes out of this one.” Rache pointed to the one in the direction of the new threat.

  “Yes, sir.”

  While his man conveyed the message, Rache ran over to check on the drill team. A small waterfall flowed out of the hole they were making, pooling around the piles of broken robot debris on the floor.

  Asger couldn’t tell how far up their hole went yet. Was Rache’s ship up there waiting for them to break through? Asger would be irked if the Kingdom ships couldn’t detect it and swoop down and chase off the Fedallah. If Rache got away with the gate from right under their noses…

  No, that wasn’t going to happen. Asger wasn’t going to fail at his mission again. He would get comm messages out once that hole was complete and warn the Osprey about what was going on. Then he would do his best to stop Rache all by himself, if he had to.

  “Casmir.” Rache ran through the magnetic field, startling Asger until he remembered he was also immune.

  A surge of bitterness washed through him as he realized Rache was not only immune to the gate but also wasn’t showing signs that he’d caught the Plague. He should have been as susceptible to that as Casmir. It wasn’t fair that friendly and caring Casmir would be struck down while a heartless mercenary killer went unscathed.

  “Casmir.” Rache poked him, startling him. “There’s a threat coming.”

  “I know,” Casmir said without looking up. “Moonrazor has turned her attention to us and is sending a team.”

  “I’m taking Asger and a group of my men to stop it.”

  Asger scowled at the presumption. “You’re taking me?”

  “You’ve still got the vial gun, right?” Rache waved at it strapped to Asger’s back.

  Asger had almost forgotten about it. Was Rache annoyed that he hadn’t used it during the first fight? Asger had deemed those robots a larger threat than the cyborgs, at least then.

  “I have it,” Asger said.

  “Then you’re coming.”

  “You’re an annoying prick, Rache.”

  “If we survive this, maybe I’ll let you punch me again.”

  “If you two wouldn’t mind leaving the flirting until later,” Casmir said, studying one of the strangely translucent panels—or what lay under it, “I’m busy, and your machismo is distracting.”

  Rache grunted. “I assume Zee will stay with you?”

  “Yes.”

  “I will never leave Casmir Dabrowski’s side,” Zee announced. “He is going to make me a mate.”

  “That’s not at all alarming,” Rache muttered, then gripped Casmir’s shoulder briefly. “You need anything? That team over there and the men at the drill will be the backup if anything happens to us and the astroshamans get through. If I don’t make it, do something creative with the gate, eh?”

  Casmir threw a startled look over his shoulder.

  “Like not giving it to Jager,” Rache added.

  “That’s not creative; that’s recalcitrant.”

  “You can creatively not give it to him.”

  Asger shook his head, not appreciating the suggestion, though he was positive Casmir had already thought of it. Instead of answering, Casmir gazed up at the ice ceiling.

  Rache patted him on the back and headed toward Asger and the men gathering by the exit.

  Asger didn’t want to run off and fight at Rache’s side, but if the astroshamans had defeated the Kingdom troops, he had little choice but to work with who was left and buy Casmir the time he needed. Later, he could figure out how to get the gate into the Kingdom’s hands. Maybe the warships were up there pummeling Rache’s ship right now.

  A nice thought, but Asger couldn’t bring himself to believe it. So far, Rache had been more prepared and was doing a far better job here than Ishii and the other captains. Asger hated to admit it, but the Kingdom had rushed into this mess out of fear of losing out and had never been in that strong of a position.

  “Wait, Rache?” Casmir looked back.

  Rache stopped. “Yes?”

  “I almost forgot. Uhm, I hacked into Kim’s chip earlier so I could communicate with her about something.”

  “She allows you to do that but she doesn’t allow you to make up words?”

  “Our relationship works. Don’t judge us.” Casmir smiled, but the words sounded exhausted rather than joking. He sounded exhausted.

  Rache must have thought the same thing because he got to the point instead of throwing out more banter. “What did she say?”

  “That if you truly had the Great Plague and survived, your blood might be able to help me fight it off. She can’t do anything on the sub, but she said if we could get a sample, she and the doctor on our ship might be able to come up with something.” Casmir turned his palm toward the ceiling, as if he wouldn’t normally ask and didn’t want to inconvenience anyone… “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to leave a sample in case something happens and you can’t get back here?”

  In case Rache and Asger got themselves killed battling the astroshamans was what he meant. A distinct possibility.

  Asger eyed Rache, expecting him to refuse or dangle the blood sample as a reward Casmir could have only if he fixed the gate. If he did, Asger would be tempted to cleave open Rache’s armor with his pertundo and collect a vial of blood while it leaked out through a gash. Even if it meant the rest of the mercenaries would jump him.

  Rache tugged off his helmet and walked over to the medic.

  “Cabrera, you still have your med-kit handy?”

  “I’d be an idiot to put it away here, sir.”

  “Good. I need you to take a blood draw.”

  “Yes, sir. From who?”

  “Whom. And me.” Rache pushed his hood up enough to reveal his neck.

  “From the jugular, sir?” his man asked and withdrew a syringe.

  “Yeah, you know I hate to take my top off when there aren’t any ladies present.”

  Casmir snorted. “I guess my damsel status was short-lived.”

  “Are you disappointed?” Asger said.

  “I don’t know. It was nice being carried.” Casmir was on his knees by his tools, but he reached out and patted Zee’s sturdy leg.

  Zee plopped a hand onto his head. “Do you wish to be carried again, Casmir Dabrowski?”

  “Not currently, but thank you for the offer. If I can’t figure this out, I may need to be hauled out unconscious and taken… somewhere.”

  “Are you making any progress?” Asger shouldn’t have asked—it hadn’t been that long—but he couldn’t help himself. Was this something that was even possible? Or were they risking their lives for nothing?

  Casmir hesitated. “Not yet. This is so alien. I mean, not truly alien, but I’m almost positive computers made it instead of humans, and they created a bunch of their own tech and programming languages before they did. It’s definitely not just a more advanced version of the kinds of systems humans make. I sure wish I had access to the Zamek University archaeology database and all previous gate studies right now. Actually, I wish I had a few AIs from Verloren Moon here that could be bribed to help me. Even though they haven’t existed long enough to have been involved in making these old gates, they are essentially the second evolution of computers that could.”

  “Yeah.” Asger didn’t admit that the words were going over his head. Alien seemed right to him. Even the computer banks along the back wall looked alien to him.


  “Asger?” Casmir gazed at him sadly, making Asger miss the goofy, cheerful Casmir he’d first met on the Stellar Dragon. “Please be careful. I’ve had a few chats with Moonrazor, at her insistence, not mine, and the last thing we talked about before I had my seizure and my chip went offline was that she was assuming I was rejecting her offer, since I hadn’t replied in a timely manner. That irritated her more than I expected, considering I’m not the one blowing up her base. I don’t know why she made the offer or why she wanted me, but she said none of us would ever leave this moon.”

  “What offer?”

  “To make me an astroshaman and give me an android body in case…” He waved to his human body. His frail, sick human body.

  Asger shook his head bleakly. It wasn’t that bad yet, was it? Casmir wasn’t that far along… They just had to get him back to the ship, and surely, the doctor could do something. Especially if—

  Rache returned with the vial of blood and handed it to Casmir. “Once you deactivate the gate, let the men know, and then go back to the submarine with Zee. My men won’t stop you. Tell the pilot there the code is nebula-three-seven-dash-fourteen and that I said for him to take you up to the surface. You’ll probably end up back on the Fedallah with Yas and Kim, since it’s not like the Kingdom will come and pick up one of my subs, but I’m sure they can do as well as a Fleet doctor.”

  “That code will make him listen to me?” Casmir asked.

  “It should. If he doesn’t, you and Kim can feel free to find a creative way to overcome him. I have a feeling Yas will help. Or stand back and hold Kim’s tools while she comes up with a bacterial concoction to waylay him.”

  “All right. Thanks.” Casmir tucked the vial into an insulated pouch in his toolkit. “But I’m afraid you’ll be back before I can figure this out. And that I’ll have had time to regret turning down Moonrazor.”

  “So long as you’re thinking positive.” Rache clapped him on the shoulder. “Come on, Asger.”

  Asger hated trailing along after the mercenary or following his orders, but he had no choice. He strode off with Rache, the last man he ever thought he’d go into battle with, his pertundo in one hand and the vial gun in the other.

  A clack-clank came from the corridor they entered.

  “Let’s do this,” Asger muttered.

  20

  Qin watched out the porthole as the submarine descended toward a recently made hole in the ice—it was still smoking. No, that had to be steam. A combat shuttle was lowering them, and in the distance, she could make out the Osprey and a second Kingdom warship firing at what appeared to be empty sky. Rache’s camouflaged vessel?

  The shuttle lowered their submarine farther, and the strange scene disappeared from view. Soon, nothing but slick, shiny walls of ice surrounded them.

  “I don’t read any submarines or anything else directly below us,” the Kingdom pilot said from the front. “But I’m getting all sorts of readings from a couple of miles to the west. Under the ice. It’s coming through even more as we descend. Different kinds of energy, and… Sir Knight!” The pilot’s voice rose with excitement. “I’m reading the signature output the gates exude.”

  “Good,” Bjarke said quietly. He was leaning against the hatch and watching the pilot.

  Qin wished Bonita were here to navigate the craft, even if she had no familiarity with submarines. Qin knew what to expect from her and that she would be a brilliant shot with the torpedoes. She had no idea what to expect from the fifteen Kingdom marines in the submarine with her, Bjarke, and the two android scholars. Even though she had her helmet up, the marines kept glancing at her.

  The submarine wobbled as they reached the water, and the marines forgot about her, instead muttering amongst themselves. A clank came from above as the shuttle detached and flew away. The submarine descended, water darkening the view of the white-blue ice all around them.

  As soon as they reached the bottom of the hole, they headed west. Toward the base.

  Qin fingered her weapons, anticipation and worry mingling in her gut. She looked forward to a battle but kept fearing they were too late.

  “There’s a tunnel in the ice,” the pilot announced. “It looks like the entrance to… something.”

  “Go in,” Bjarke said. “Let’s hope it’s not a maze since Scholar Sato didn’t stick around to guide us.”

  “Because she was kidnapped.” Kelsey-Sato stood rather than sat on a seat near navigation. “We’re lucky she was able to escape long enough to send a message. I hope she hasn’t been recaptured and harmed.”

  “We’ll retrieve her,” Bjarke said.

  Qin tapped a rhythm on her Brockinger as the submarine twisted through the icy tunnel, eventually reaching two giant open doors leading into a lagoon or underwater harbor.

  “There are three submarines lying in wait in there,” the pilot said. “One is turning toward us and arming torpedoes. Do we turn back?”

  Bjarke leaned into navigation, looking at some display. “They’re all Rache’s subs. Go in and return fire at will.”

  “Kim might be in one of those.” Kelsey-Sato looked like she would spring into navigation to stop them, but Professor Beaumont, who sat in the seat next to her, gripped her shoulder.

  “Let the combat specialists handle the combat,” he urged.

  The words made Qin realize she’d unfastened her harness and surged to her feet. She was one of those specialists. But she couldn’t do anything against torpedoes, not from inside the submarine. She envisioned herself swimming out, tearing open the hatch on an enemy submarine, and darting in to deal with the crew. Could that work? She had no experience with underwater battles.

  Something flashed outside of the porthole, and their submarine rocked viciously. Qin widened her stance and kept her balance.

  “Were we hit?” someone asked.

  “Not exactly,” the pilot said. “Our torpedo hit theirs, and they both exploded in the middle. Ice is raining down on the harbor—there’s air up there, a surface, and is that a dock?”

  “Fire again,” Bjarke said. “Wait, what’s that middle sub doing?”

  “It’s heading toward the one that just fired. And, uh, huh. It just crashed into the side of it.”

  “They are all Rache’s, right?” Bjarke sounded doubtful now.

  “Yes,” the pilot said.

  “Kim must be in there,” Kelsey-Sato blurted. “She has command. She’s piloting the sub.” After a pause—everyone seemed too skeptical to speak—she added, “Where did she learn how to do that?”

  “It’s backing up and… ramming them again,” the pilot said. “The third sub is turning toward us.”

  “Shoot that one instead,” Bjarke said. “Before they can target us.”

  “Firing.”

  Qin left her seat and came up behind Bjarke to peer through the much larger porthole in navigation. The pale blue light coming from the pillars out there made it possible to see the scene the pilot had been describing. And it was exactly as crazy as it had sounded.

  Their torpedo fired a second before the enemy submarine could fire, and it struck the craft straight on. The water muffled the explosion, but the nose of the submarine blew open impressively.

  “That one is out of commission,” the pilot said. “The, uh, helper sub has the other one pinned against the dock pillars. It’s not going to be able to target us from that position.”

  “Take us in,” Bjarke said.

  In less than a minute, they surfaced next to the dock. The submarine rose and bobbed in water rocking from the explosions.

  “Everyone out who’s coming with me.” Bjarke jogged back to the overhead hatch.

  Qin shouldered a marine aside to go out after him, worried that Kim might be in trouble. If the other mercenaries hadn’t known she’d somehow gotten control of that submarine… they would know now. And just because their vessels were inoperable didn’t mean there weren’t troops capable of retaliating.

  Bjarke sprang from the ladder rungs o
f the hatchway to a strange black dock. He was firing at something before Qin climbed out of the submarine. Two men in black combat armor—Rache’s men—had jumped from their craft to the dock ahead of them.

  One got close enough to grapple with Bjarke and tried to tear his rifle away.

  Qin could have fired, but Bjarke was in the way. She lowered her shoulder and slammed into the second mercenary like a battering ram. He flew over the submarine and landed in the water. She aimed her Brockinger and fired at him.

  The mercenary’s helmet dipped under the surface an instant before her round hit. When it exploded, she didn’t know if it had harmed him or not, but he didn’t come back up. Maybe he realized he was outnumbered and should hide, for the rest of Bjarke’s marines were streaming out now.

  One helped Bjarke tear open the armor of his opponent and knock his weapon away. The mercenary stopped fighting and spread his hands.

  The rest of the marines rushed to the two enemy submarines, leaping into the open hatches. Rifle fire and shouts came from the one the torpedo had struck.

  “This one’s empty,” someone called out.

  Bjarke looked around. “Rache may have only left a couple of men behind in each one to wait.”

  “What about that one?” A marine pointed toward the still-closed hatch on the third craft, the one that had been helping them.

  Qin sprang for it, wanting Kim to see a friendly face first if she was in there. And if she wasn’t, or she was wounded, Qin would deal with whoever else she found.

  The hatch opened as she was reaching for it. A helmeted head that she didn’t recognize—the man had wide fearful eyes—rose slowly, then jerked back down. Qin kept herself from firing.

  “They’re your people,” a man whispered from below. “You go first.”

  “I was planning on it.” The dry voice that answered belonged to Kim.

  Qin grinned. “Kim? We brought your mother. And some people to help.”

  “Good.” There was little inflection in Kim’s voice, as if she’d expected nothing less, but she gave Qin a friendly pat on the arm when she climbed out. She wore combat armor, but not the black gear the mercenaries favored. It was blue Kingdom Fleet armor she must have been lent.