Space Race (Space Race 1) Nathan Hystad (ebooks children's books free .TXT) 📖

the shields crackled and broke down, making it easy prey. The enemy craft lay lifeless in the clutches of the hauler.

“Bring the ship in, but be cautious. We want the flyer’s network intact, and whatever was inside operating it alive,” I said.

“One escaped,” she replied.

Panicked, I stared out the viewer, unable to determine the enemy fighters with my bare eyes. “Do we have a tag on it?” I asked her.

“No. It’s gone.” Her voice wasn’t reassuring. “We’re beginning our retreat. We’ll leave a couple of corporate frigates here on the off chance one of them returns, though we don’t imagine that’s going to happen any time soon.”

“To Saturn?” I asked.

“To Saturn.”

We were done here.

The invasion was over.

We’d survived.

The Defenders were in pieces, and we’d lost Lotus’ Racer in the skirmish, but all things considered, we’d been extremely lucky today.

Jade’s voice called out, and I peered over my shoulder to see her stressing over the comms.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Holland. I can’t find his Pod,” she said. “He’s gone.”

 

 

 

Twenty-Four

Riding all the way to the Saturn station was a slow-moving process. The fleet lacked the Racers’ speed, and Varn and I led the charge, using half thrusters the entire trip. The crew felt small without R11 and Holland on board, but I couldn’t dwell on that.

Jade watched every video feed we could find, finding no explanation for what had happened with the kid. One minute, his Pod was there; the next, it was blocked out of sight by a passing freighter. Then it had vanished entirely.

We’d arrived at Saturn without issue, and I left the radar mods on, in hopes they would alert us of any enemy drones watching our movements. Nothing had shown up since the gateway’s destruction.

The meeting was scheduled for now, but I was behind after sleeping in. Apparently, I’d needed it after the last hectic week.

Jade knocked on the door of my suite, the same room I’d occupied a few days prior. It felt like months had passed since then.

She’d ditched the SeaTech-branded jumpsuit, and had on a pair of pants and a long-sleeved shirt. “I think these should fit.” She shoved a stack of clothing at me, and I unzipped my jumpsuit, tossing it in the corner.

She looked away while I jumped into the pants. “Jade, do you think they’re going to tell us the truth?”

“I doubt it.”

“I can’t believe we lost Holland.” I buttoned my shirt and headed for the door.

“Neither can I,” she said.

“Any luck getting a robot to boot R11 into?” I asked as we strode through the halls. We were five minutes late already.

“Octavia’s having one sent to Pilgrim as we speak. I’ll begin the process after the meeting,” she informed me.

“We can count that as a victory.” We took the elevator and shoved in beside five Board staff. They each looked at their PersaTabs, responding to various messages.

The meeting was happening on the top floor, and burly guards stood in front of the entrance. We gave them our names, and they permitted us entrance but didn’t drop the scowls.

“…the evidence is there. They will return!” the Espace CEO said. She stood up, with the others watching her.

“Clari, we don’t have enough information at present,” Octavia said.

I spotted Luther sitting with Varn Wallish, and walked over. They’d saved us two seats. Varn still had on his Sage uniform, and he gave a brisk nod as we sat.

Octavia and her sister Ellie paused what they were saying, staring at us. I lifted a hand in apology, and they continued.

“I beg to differ, Lead Chair,” Under said. “Think of it as a corporate takeover. The Velibar want what we have. They want the top spot. They’ve experienced a hiccup in obtaining their goal, but does that mean they’ll give up? No. They’ll change tactics. It’s been done a thousand times by each of us.”

“But this isn’t the same, Frank. These are aliens,” Eclipse said.

“It’s all the same. They will return, as Clari suggested. The question is when.” Frank’s hands clasped in front of his chest.

“More importantly, how do we stop them?” the Luna Corp CEO asked. He was a thickset man, middle-aged with a trendy haircut that made his face look too small.

I didn’t know why we were even involved in this discussion. The room was filled with the Board Chairs and CEOs. Having Varn and his team here with mine felt odd.

“We need to go after them. Take this on the offensive,” Bryson said. His clothing was ruffled, his cheeks dark with a couple of days’ facial hair.

“You know we can’t do that,” Octavia said.

“You heard what he said. Preston Lewis. Did you know I fought with Catarina tooth and nail over her accepting that posting? It was never advertised, and she used an alias on board because it wasn’t right for a CEO’s wife to be leaving on a five-year mission to Proxima. I couldn’t talk her out of it. All she ever wanted was to see the stars. She left us at home, and when she didn’t…” Bryson caught himself. “I don’t know about you all, but I won’t sit here waiting. I have to find her. And if Holland made it through the gate before it was destroyed…he could be alive too.”

I understood what he was saying, but what hope did Bryson have against an angry fleet of Velibar?

“Bryson, hear us out before you do anything rash. We could use your mind to assist this defense. Now isn’t the time to break apart. We need to become stronger than ever,” Octavia told him.

Under pointed a finger at me. “Can we trust him?”

“Arlo?” she asked.

“You heard that old man, beckoning him like no time had passed. I always knew there was something off about this one.” Under crossed his arms, his lips sealed dramatically.

“I thought he was dead like the rest of you. Besides, without me, things would have ended a lot differently,” I said defensively. “Speaking of which, we did win Space Race. I want you to give