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

She crawled farther away from the crash, her left leg twisted in the wrong direction and the skin on her hands falling away like dripping glue, exposing tendons and muscles. Exhausted, the smoke in her lungs fought against every breath, her broken ribs making it nearly impossible to grab air.

She laid on her back, ready to die, but pressed her rescue beacon on her belt, doubting it even worked. Up above, through the broken canopy and in the blue sky, she could see Jaxx circling like a vulture.

Rivkah bolted to a sitting position. She gazed at her hands. They were normal. She touched her face. It was too smooth. She wasn’t this person, this normal-looking, unscarred person. She was a fighter, who’d earned her battle scars. She should have worn them like a badge of honor, rather than hiding herself away.

No more.

No more hiding, no more waiting. She was Rivkah Ravenwood and she was in charge of her destiny.

She looked around. She was on a cot inside Cole’s dropship.

And there he was, his back to her, her attempted murderer. Jaxx.

“Get off the controls, now. I’m piloting the rest of the way.”

48

June 10thCharlotte, North Carolina

Drew had never met his darknet buddies in person. They weren’t what you’d call people-people. But he’d convinced “starwanderer3,” “jabberwockmyass,” and “bitemymegabite” to meet him. They, like Drew, were of the “what are shoelaces and why should I tie them?” class of nerdery. But they’d been at their computers, studying the world, watching patterns, talking bollocks about aliens, black holes, worm-theory, black-ops, cover-ups and conspiracies their whole lives. Not that it mattered to Drew, but they were also the world’s leading experts on the scientific failings of Doctor Who, Star Trek, and Star Wars so they were 1000% prepped for a clandestine meeting in a dingy basement, under cover of night.

Trouble was, Drew couldn’t wait for nightfall and he didn’t have access to a basement. They would have to come to him. A mission this dangerous could not be relayed over the web. Not even over a secure channel. De nada. They were going to have to put their pants on, leave their houses, board planes, and meet him by the triple tree—three trees growing out of one seemingly dead white pine stump—in Mountain State Park near Chestnut Knob loop at 0900 hours, on June 10th—today. He sent them a detailed map through encryption he didn’t think anyone but his buddies could break. And, break it, they did.

Drew stood under one of the chestnut trees that lined the loop. Upside to meeting in a public space, there were plenty of hikers about, which gave you cover. Downside, he had no idea what starwanderer3, jabberwockmyass, or bitemymegabite looked like. He could rule out the suits, dashing from their cars to their boxy offices, but it was Charlotte, so there weren’t too many of them.

He checked his watch. Either they were all late, or he hadn’t been able to pick them out of the hikers. Score one for the nerd patrol or he’d picked a bad spot

Scratch that.

It was the shuffle and the paranoia that gave him away. Jeebus on a cracker. Could he look any more suspicious? The coat, the Converse, the glasses, the phone glued to his hand all screamed: “I am on a clandestine operation and the Government is out to get me, look away, look away, look away.”

Actually, that wasn’t a bad cover. Drew thought about the shape of his life-to-come. Perhaps that’s what it would look like, him shuffling along, babbling nonsense while lacing it with truth, pushing a shopping cart of all his worldly goods.

“Greetings of peace, Earthling.” They’d decided on a standard greeting, so they could identify one another. He smiled at the Converse-wearing human who stood beside the tree.

“Who says I’m from Earth?”

They both cracked up.

As soon as they’d made the first introductions, two more hackmeisters emerged from the bushes. One was tall and skinny with long hair and an astigmatism that made it impossible to know which eye to look at. The other was a goth-girl, with panda-black eyes and purple lips. They both flashed Drew Spock “live long and prosper” signs, which meant they were all assembled.

“No names, no addresses, no contacts, other than the contacts we already have.”

Everyone in the circle nodded. They knew the drill. Thrilling as it was to meet, the operation was founded on absolute and unbreakable secrecy. The minute they knew anything about one another, they would be compromised.

Drew fished three thumb drives from his inner pocket. “What I am about to give you blows the roof off what we know about space travel, our government, and life in the Universe. There are ancient civilizations out there in the stars. They know about us and have left us to evolve. Apparently, we’re too war-like to invite to the intergalactic party just yet.”

He was preaching to the choir, confirming things they had long suspected.

“Slade—you’ve seen him, that asshole who tried to discredit me—is planning to take high-ranking officials and ‘essential’ personnel on his expedition to colonize Callisto. He plans to leave the rest of us behind, to face the rising waters and inevitable inundation.”

Goth girl frowned.

“You heard me. There’s going to be another great flood. One that blankets the Earth. There are a million theories out there about why, but none of them matter, because we have to let people know we’re facing extinction and that bastard is evacuating the very people who could help us get off-world. Every scientist who knows anything about building space-worthy craft is going to be taken from us. Slade and the GSA are signing our death warrant.”

Converse-wearing dude held up his hand. “Permission to speak?”

“Granted,” said Drew.

“If we get this data out there…”

“And we will,” said Goth-girl.

“If we get this data out there, will it make any difference?”

“Sure it will,” said Drew. “Do you think they can launch an exodus if half the world shows up to protest? We’ll broadcast their plans, which incidentally,