Ascendant Saga Collection: Sci-Fi Fantasy Techno Thriller Brandon Ellis (ebook reader for comics txt) 📖

has to be another way. If Bogle is the overseer, directing us what to do, and I’m the main key...” he bit his fingernail. “The sub keys are here to kill—”

A starfighter flew overhead, then another and another, exiting through a large square door in the dome.

He opened the book again to finish the last page. “Zan and Leo? They are the change? Change for what?” He read more symbols. “Coordinates and star systems?” He put his hand to his mouth. Coordinates were written throughout the page. It was a map. He could stay and fulfill his destiny or he could follow these coordinates—if he was fast enough—and fulfill his destiny an alternate way, one in which he wouldn’t need to sacrifice his life to save an entire Atlantean civilization.

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Why me? I’m a nobody.” He nodded. “That’s probably why. Why sacrifice a modern day Nikolai Tesla or a Joan of Ark? I’m just a washed up archaeologist that no one needs. Chances are they only need a warm body to set this in motion.” He didn’t believe, not for a single second, that he was an Atlantean-human hybrid, who’d been written about in their ancient books. He wasn’t the key. He was Kaden Jaxx. Just boring old Kaden Jaxx. No one special. Never had been, never would be.

He shook his head and shifted his negative thoughts to his translations of this book in front of him.

He smashed his cheeks in his hands as he leaned forward on the table. He closed his eyes, thinking. The book said his DNA was similar to a lever. Once it was pressed down, it would end all dark frequencies on Atlantis Alta in exchange for his own frequency. So, indeed, his death was on his doorstep. He was supposed to die to cancel out the negative vibes. That didn’t make a lick of sense.

Unless he followed the star coordinates on the map and did something else he hadn’t yet deciphered.

But, hell…either way, he needed to do something first.

He grabbed the book and tucked it under his arm and ran after Rivkah. Whether he was going to live or die, he needed to tell Rivkah how he felt about her, and now. And he needed to know that she felt the same.

43

J-Quadrant, Solar System - Callisto Orbit

Fox leaned back in his chair. His exo-suit was on the floor. He curled his fingers behind his neck. In his Oospore, Fox watched Callisto as if it was a movie on his vid screen. He pressed his ship’s cloaking mechanism and yawned. He listened to the wheels vibrating against the dropship’s inner walls, pivoting the outer armor like dragon scales poking outward, the outer armor revealing radar-deflecting mirrors. Hopefully that would keep the Kelhoons away for the short duration he’d be in Callisto’s orbit.

His control panel beeped and Slade appeared on the screen. Fox flinched, not expecting to hear from Slade until the Secret Space Program entered the system.

“Welcome, Colonel. I’m here, awaiting your arrival. I have a lot of information I want to—”

“It’s more than that, Kajka Okbak,” said Slade.

Fox rubbed his forehead. “What was that, Colonel?”

The screen switched and a Kelhoon appeared. The creature grinned, slightly baring his teeth—if you could call a no-lipped, straight mouth a grin. “Koojkaka Gonoij.”

“Excuse me,” replied Fox. “Colonel, can you please—”

“No, no, Kajka.” Slade obviously couldn’t hear Fox. He instead talked directly to the Kelhoon. “That’s not what I’m saying. Once we take Callisto, my people are all yours, not just some of them, all of them.”

The scaly freak gave a satisfied nod. “Shakja Sivjka Goojna.”

“Thank you for that gift. I’ll gladly accept it once the invasion is over. Things have not gone as planned, so Plan B is in effect. I applaud your continued loyalty, Kajka. Human-farms are on the docket.”

Fox checked the comm line. He had intercepted a frequency. Or, better yet, someone had nudged his energy comm dial to receive a line from a private conference call.

Kajka put his fists together. “Kja Oovgoj.”

Slade mimicked him, punching his fists together as well. “Kja Oovgoj.”

The transmission blipped off.

“Kja Oovgoj?” It was the Kelhoons party line when it came to genocide. Even Fox knew how to translate it. “To kill them all.” It meant that no matter how many extraterrestrial Beings inhabited an area or were part of an allied cause, the victors were never the allies, the victor was the remaining combat unit or units left alive from a particular race. After the bloodshed on Callisto, and after all the Atlanteans were dead, the Kelhoons would attack the SSP. And with Slade on their side. It meant that the Atlanteans and the Humans would be killed, exterminated, once this war ended. And the ones that weren’t exterminated, he’d use for factory human-farms?

Slade was sick.

Fox tapped his teeth with his fist. It couldn’t be. Would Slade really throw his entire men and women, Senators and Governors, the SSP, into the slobbering maw of the Kelhoons? He didn’t know Slade too well, didn’t know his intricacies of diplomacy. Maybe Slade was setting the Kel up, positioning him to expose who the Kel truly were so the Secret Space Program could end Kajka Okbak and his fleet the moment the battle for Callisto was complete?

He stood and paced back and forth, thinking...thinking...

If Slade recorded the conversation, Slade could use it against the lizard-heads. If not, then Slade kept the conversation on the down low, making sure no one knew what ace Slade had up his sleeve. In such a case, Slade was going to throw his own blood under the bus, slap some bombs by the tires, and detonate them.

He checked the comm line. He pressed a few holographic buttons, patching into the call he’d just mysteriously received. He pressed play.

Static.

He brought the call up again and pressed more buttons. The word DEADLOCKED filled the screen. The call had been erased, no recording available.

He pounded his chair, his face flushed red. “I’m going