The Line of the Sol Empress

Chapter 29.4

[Hope]

Hugging to the shadows, Hope peeked around the corner of an abandoned building toward the Priestess' office. In the dim light, a guard sat on the low adobe-style wall that formed a courtyard, facing away from Hope with his rifle propped in a corner. He leaned forward to light a hand-rolled smoke, casting a flickering glow against a wall.

Hope tip-toed up behind him as quietly as she could, but with every step of her prosthetic leg, the curved foot blade made an audible clack. The guard paused, then turned toward the noise.

Damn!

Hope drew her pistol and fired, sending a stun pulse into the wide-eyed guard. The sharp twang report from her weapon shattered the nighttime silence, echoing off of nearby buildings and making her jump. Shuddering, guard slumped down into the shadows behind the wall.

I hope no one else heard that.

Orange sparks showered to the ground as her plasma cutter made quick work of severing the front door lock. Once inside, she swung the door closed behind her. A flashlight revealed the cluttered disarray of the front reception area, littered with broken planters and overturned furniture. Guided by her narrow light beam, she wove through the clutter toward the Priestess' private office. By standard design, the long-range com should be there. While stepping through the darkness, her prosthetic foot caught on something, and she flung her arms out, nearly toppling over. She hissed, hopping on one leg and gritting her teeth against the sharp pain shooting up her partial leg.

The office was in similar shambles. As Hope scanned the room with her light, a small oval device in one corner caught her eye — some sort of sensor device. Her heart rate quickened. I may not have much time.

Making her way behind the overturned desk, she found the long-range com interface and switched on the power. Three green lights on the black box flickered to life. Hope looked up, praying that the roof transmitter array had not been disabled. Once the small touchscreen glowed, she placed her hand against a biometric scanner, muttering to the darkness, "Please work, please work..."

A sigh of relief came as the screen displayed the message 'access granted, welcome Empress'. She typed in the com code for the Firebird Rise, thus inducing a quantum entanglement with the starship. Enabling an emergency toggle switch, she pressed a green button labeled transmit.

An alto female voice replied. "Firebird Rise, connected."

A wide smile came to Hope's face. "Sai, this is Hope. Get my dad right away."

Sai responded with glee, "I am so pleased to hear your voice, Hope."

"As am I yours, Sai."

Moon's disheveled head appeared on the screen. She must have woken him up. "Hope, are you safe?"

"Not for long," she replied. "I don't have much time to talk. I am on Ephenia, city of Oran, at a place called the New Hope Shelter, not far from the Sol Priestess' office."

Moon turned his head up. "Sai, get us underway and don't spare the horses." Turning back, he said, "And Gabriel?"

"They captured him. He is at some place called the Ring."

"Consortium or Commonwealth?"

Hope shook her head. "Local warlord called the Khan, but there is Consortium presence here." She bit her lip. "What about Eshe and Celeste? Are they okay?" The words nearly hung up in her throat, fearing the response.

"Eshe is onboard, bruised and battered, but okay. Celeste--" He paused, turning his eyes down and rubbing his forehead. "I don't know. I think the Commonwealth forces took her."