Shadows of Mars (Broken Stars Book 1) I.O. Adler (read people like a book TXT) 📖

staring with its one eye as the other eye remained glued to the screen.

“You think I’m joking?”

Carmen stepped into the room and brought her free hand down on one of the machines. It smashed the frame and caused several lights to start blinking wildly. This got the bug’s full attention and it raised a dozen tiny arms and a quartet of wings as if trying to make itself look bigger.

“Honey, stop!” Sylvia shouted. “Can’t you see they’re fixing me? If you break that it will cost us hours. You already damaged their ship and the diagnostics are taking longer than expected. Just calm down. Why are you even here with the spindlebot? I almost didn’t let you in until the ship computer identified you.”

“What do you mean you let me in? They have you prisoner.”

“We haven’t talked enough for you to know everything. The Primary Executive might be a bully, but it can be reasoned with, when you take the time to understand where it’s coming from. So knock it off with this foolishness. There’s too much at stake for you to be acting the child.”

Crazy. Her mom had gone crazy. “The Primary Executive shot Jenna.”

This got her mom’s attention. “What do you mean?”

“The worm was raging when we wouldn’t surrender the harvester without giving you up first. She’s barely hanging on. These people aren’t your friends!”

“I didn’t say they were. Just a moment. I’ll speak with the Primary Executive.”

“Wait. Don’t tell that creep I’m here. I’m still on board the Cordice ship inside their medical bay.”

“Carmen, honey, I’m sure the Primary Executive’s already figured that out when you showed up on board their ship. Now let me talk to the Primary. And hand over the harvester. It will solve all of this. Trust me.”

Carmen felt a jolt of anxiety run down her spine and almost disconnected from the spindlebot. She wanted to run and hide until the nightmare ended. She’d wake up in bed with her sister fine, her nephews wanting her as a babysitter, and her dad needing his dishes washed while her mom was away on some mission but coming back, always coming back.

With a thought she focused on her body. Disconnecting would be as easy as a thought. The med bay and its machines hummed around her. The blustering voice of the Primary Executive boomed. Warm air circulated from the medical bed beneath her.

She could release, unlock, and end it all by handing the ship over.

“I can’t give it to them. Not until they let you go.”

“As you can see, I’m not a prisoner. When the Cordice rescued Lieutenant Townes and me, I was suffering hypoxia and my heart had stopped. They got us stabilized before uploading us to the simulation. But my body was never fixed.” She flexed a hand. Touched the back of her head. “But the Melded are getting me back on my own feet. We can do the same for Hamish. They’ll fix Jenna. The Primary Executive is only doing what it has to because the Cordice are a divided people and they hold the key to any of us surviving.”

“But the harvester doesn’t belong to the Melded.”

“It will now. I took it so I could bring you and Jenna here. We use the harvester and fix the rest of the ships of the Framework. Then we do what none of the red shifters would dare to try…we take the fight to the enemy.”

“Why would you bring us here?”

“I know what happened to Earth. I studied what the enemy did while inside the simulation. The only reason our planet survived was that they didn’t stick around to finish the job. That doesn’t mean they’re not throwing rocks our way as we speak. Because what they did to our planet was an afterthought when they attacked the refugee fleet. The only reason the Framework survived was because they were running late to the rendezvous and none of their ships had antimatter drives to attract attention. But we can get what remains of the Framework fixed up enough and survive to fight the next battle. And this one will be on our terms. We need the harvester.”

“We? You talk like you’re one of them.”

“I’m no more a Melded than you are a robot. But that doesn’t mean we should sit back meekly and let these aliens make our choices for us. The Melded have the technology to preserve my life and I accept it, just like you’ve considered the ear implants we’ve talked about.”

“It’s a little different, Mom.”

“You know what I mean. The Cordice own a ship more advanced than any of the Framework races possess. They were going to flee without helping the rest of the survivors. Without it, rebuilding and preparing the remaining ships within an adequate timeframe isn’t possible. Anyone left will be forced to scatter and hide only to be hunted down. This is the last chance any of us will ever have of uniting in the face of our foe.”

“What about Earth? You went through all this trouble just to bring Jenna and me here? Have you forgotten Dad? And Zach and Landon?”

“We’ll save who we can. But there’s so little time. Do as I say and let go of the harvester. You won’t be hurt. I’ll be sure Jenna is brought straight here and made better.”

“You still haven’t explained why all of this can’t be done with the Cordice helping. The harvester is theirs. They saved you and Lieutenant Townes. Their caretaker may be broken but they’re not evil. So why are the Melded here to take the harvester by force?”

“Because the Cordice take too long in making their decisions. And before I stole the harvester they were about to leave the Framework to its fate. It’s that simple. We’re in a fight for our lives. You know what the