Chapter 27 – Cyprus
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Cyprus drummed her fingers against the console of her ship and stared into the hypnotizing chaos of the Storm. She still couldn’t believe that Recli flew through the death trap. Even the Hokkonians were caught off guard. Recli never would have made it to Terminal 14 if they anticipated a possible breach.
“You’re going to get yourself killed,” She muttered, checking the radar for the hundredth time.
Of course, the Shadari were late; that was just her luck. The last thing she needed was a Hokkonian patrol discovering her in a restricted area. They probably had her signature flagged in their system for her participation in the merchant raid, and they were definitely on high alert from the carnage on Ordan. For all she knew there was a bounty on her head, while Recli lounged on Reloculan.
Cyprus sighed and checked the radar again, still no sign of a Hokkonian patrol. She squinted into the swirling mass of charged ions and dancing colors, willing the Shadari ships to materialize. She imagined The Storm sounded like the crackle of flames, popping and snapping at those unfortunate enough to enter.
A button on the center console flashed, an incoming transmission from Terminal 14. She stared at the blinking light with a frown. Who would possibly be trying to hail her from the station? She had warned the replacement crew not to contact her while she was gone, but maybe there was an emergency.
She accepted the transmission with an exasperated grunt and was surprised to hear Recli’s guttural hiss.
“Cyprus?” the voice seemed to chill the entire cockpit like an icy draft.
Despite her dread-induced goosebumps she lunged at the console with a snarl and hissed her response into the microphone, “What do you think you’re doing calling me through an official channel?”
Recli’s lurching animalistic laughter filled the speakers, “Reloculan has no long-range communication, and I was curious if you were still alive.”
“Of course, I’m still alive, but I won’t be when the council figures us out,” She snapped. “Which should be any minute now that you patched a Reloculan transmission through an official channel. You know they listen to this, right? It’s all recorded.”
A deep breath cooled her initial frustration, but her fists remained clenched as she imagined Giantis reading the transcripts.
“It doesn’t matter anymore; your people were going to find out sooner than later with a war brewing on their doorstep. Besides, how did you plan on bringing the undamaged HWND back with you?” Recli mused.
“I don’t know- tactfully! This is serious; you killed two Hokkonians on Union soil! I needed time to plan out- “
“Distance between us has made you brave.” Recli’s voice lost its humorous edge, “have my people arrived yet?”
The ominous rumble of his words extinguished her fury like a candle in a tempest, “No.”
Her meek reply was met with silence that lasted for an uncomfortable amount of time, and the urge to fill that silence became almost unbearable.
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“If I wait any longer, I might be caught by a patrol,” She ventured.
The words sounded lame the moment they left her mouth, and she winced at the continued silence.
Recli ended her torment with a single rasping cough. “My warriors will be there, you don’t have to fear the Hokkonians. I have been working closely with an engineer here. He has a solution for our HWND problem.”
“I don’t think it’s that much a problem. You handled two on your own, and there are more of your kind coming, we’ll easily overwhelm the rest.” Cyprus replied.
Another mucus-filled cough, “You’re more of a fool than I thought if you believe that. These HWND pilots are incredible warriors, you need to respect them.”
Cyprus blinked, “And you do?”
“Of course,” Recli barked, “are you so ignorant to dismiss their strength? You were there on Ordan, sniveling like a whelp while I dealt with them, did it seem easy?”
An image of Recli’s defeated form and the Hokkonian pilot standing over top of him flashed in her mind. “No, it didn’t.”
His contemptuous sneer crackled through speakers, “I tire of your mental limitations. Tell me, what do humans think about besides reproduction and food?” A long, hacking cough interrupted his words, followed by a deep snarl, “Don’t answer that!”
She hung her head like a scorned student, accepting his beratement with sheepish helplessness. He was clearly in a terrible mood, and she would take a Hokkonian patrol over angering him further with a thoughtless remark.
She opted for a safe response, “How many of your kind are there? The Hokkonians are strong, but they lack numbers.”
“We are numerous, but the rest of my kind are not like me. The HWNDs will cut them down; it’s my job to ensure that doesn’t happen.” He hissed.
That word made her pause, ‘his job’? She knew he had come to Dromedar for a reason, but he rarely spoke of his intentions. Why let it slip now?
She decided not to press it, “What’s the solution?”
“One that would allow for a more immediate response.” He muttered, “I don’t have the patience to hide and wait.”
The transmission ended before Cyprus could ask any more questions. She had to be more careful; there was something off about Recli, besides the fact that he was a bloodthirsty monster. His mental status was slipping, and on more than one occasion, she caught a crazed, unstable light in his eyes. One wrong step and she’d have to rely on Recli’s crumbling self-control not to kill her. Not to mention his cough… that was only getting worse.
Now more than ever, she needed to get the captured HWNDs back to Gasaan, where they could be researched and replicated. She had a creeping suspicion that with Hokku gone, another enemy would take its place.
A warning light flashed on the console, and her stomach dropped. She whipped her head up to watch The Storm through the viewport and caught sight of four ships. They materialized as though the ion phenomenon had birthed them.
She cleared her throat and opened a wide channel transmission. “Sslid a’ danssi.”
She recited the words Recli had forced her to memorize, though she probably butchered the pronunciation.
“Sslid a’ danssi,” A shadari voice answered, “Are you here to guide us to Recli?”
She licked her lips, “Yes, he sent me to collect you. We’ve established a base of operations on a planet not far from here.”
“Excellent, Recli has done well, the empress will be pleased.”
Cyprus smiled weakly as the ships began their speedy approach. They were significantly larger than Recli’s but still held a crude and brutish design. She itched to run a deep scan and let her ship’s computer fully analyze the rig’s capabilities. Dromedar only knows how the reptilian monsters would react to an invasion of their privacy.
“Well, we better get going. There’s going to be a Hokkonian patrol anytime now.”
“Let them come.” The Shadari answered, “We could use a good fight.”
Cyprus’ voice nearly cracked, “I don’t think that’s a good idea, I mean, to start a fight now would ruin Recli’s plans.”
The Shadari laughed and Cyprus sent a silent prayer to whatever God would listen. She was determined to live through this!
Her jaw dropped as more and more ships began to materialized themselves from the storm, as if her prayers were answered with mockery.
Recli wasn’t just bringing a few hundred warriors, but the entire Shadari empire.
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