Dark Universe Read online

  Rise of the Gladiator

  Book 2- Dark Universe

  By Cheree Alsop

  Copyright © 2020 by Cheree L. Alsop

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  ISBN

  Cover Design by Avdal Designs

  Editing by Sue Player

  www.ChereeAlsop.com

  To my mother-

  Thank you for making me

  Take that writing class in high school;

  You believed in me before I

  Wrote my first word.

  To my children-

  Thank you for making me smile every day,

  For filling life with laughter and love,

  And for every great adventure.

  To my husband-

  I love exploring the ends of the Universe

  At your side. Every adventure is greater than the last

  Because I get to share it with you.

  Chapter One

  KOVE

  Death had let me go once more. I wondered whether that was luck or some cruel joke I couldn’t see the punchline to yet. As I lay on my bed aboard the SevenWolf, I found myself at the mercy of the crew who apparently thought a fallen gladiator needed plenty of entertainment.

  “So that’s when I told him that calling me four arms was a compliment instead of an insult!” Jashu Blu concluded.

  I stared at him and tried to remember what he had been telling me. The Quarian grinned, his blue eyes dancing.

  “That’s hilarious,” I replied flatly.

  A wild laugh burst out of the young man and he bounced up and down on the edge of the bed. “That’s what I thought, too!” he said.

  I clenched my jaw to keep from yelling at him to stop shaking the mattress. Every movement sent pain knifing through my head and my torso where Leanda’s sword had nearly ended my life.

  I heard the door slide open and breathed a sigh of relief that stopped when Guinea appeared.

  The ship’s chef and apparent potions master came in carrying a tea tray that would be more fitting on Warkan than a starship fleeing through space.

  The woman with the bright yellow hair shot me a searching look, then glanced at the Quarian.

  “I think it’s time you give Kovak a break, Jashu Blu,” she suggested.

  “But I was entertaining him like Gardsworn told me to,” he replied.

  I made a mental note to punch Gardsworn in the nose the next time I saw him. No doubt the green-skinned Mechadocian was having a good laugh with his cousin in the engine room over it.

  “Junquit said we’re getting closer to the black hole. There’s a good view of it from the bridge,” she said.

  “Cool!” Jashu Blu shouted. He ran from the room with all the enthusiasm of a faelan in a rose garden.

  “Thanks,” I told the woman guardedly.

  “Anytime,” she replied. “Though I probably should have sent him somewhere else. Nova was hoping you’d be able to make it to the bridge. She’s worried about the coordinates.”

  Any enthusiasm I felt at the mention of Nova’s name vanished when Guinea set her tea tray on the table near the bed.

  “Do you really think I’d fall for one of your concoctions again?” I asked.

  The woman rolled her eyes. “Do you really think I’d slip you another paralysis draught when we’re heading into the Dark Universe and you’re the only who knows what we might be getting into?” Her yellow eyebrows rose. “Hmm, dearie? Or perhaps I’m under orders from the good Captain herself to give you something to ease the pain so you can join her without passing out on the way to the bridge.”

  I hated to admit that she had a point. Nevertheless, it took some doing to will my hand to open and accept the small cup she held out to me. I felt completely ridiculous bandaged and bed-ridden sipping from a teacup. Gladiators definitely didn’t drink from teacups.

  As soon as it was empty, she took it from me and set it on the tray.

  “Or did I paralyze you again just to see if you would be that gullible?” she asked.

  Ice shot through my veins.

  She grinned at my expression. “Gotcha, Smiren.” She picked up the tray and winked at me before flouncing back to the door. “In order to find out who your friends are, you have to try a few cups of tea.”

  “That makes no sense!” I called after her.

  Laughter followed the woman down the hallway.

  Warmth spread through my limbs and chased away the sharpest edge of the pain. I took a breath and let it fill my lungs completely before letting it out again. Leanda’s spear had gone through my chest and out my back, collapsing my lung. I had been able to heal the worst of it with the last of Jashu Blu’s skull beetle; the rest was up to my body.

  At least I can breathe. Breathing is handy.

  Breathing is—

  Whatever my inner voice was going to reply was cut off when the ship shook. I had been on the SevenWolf long enough to know something wasn’t right. I pushed to my feet and was nearly to the door when another shudder threw me into the wall. I reached up and slapped my palm on the reader beside the door just as the sound of explosions came from down the hall.

  “Bridge,” I shouted.

  “We’re a little busy right now,” Junquit’s strained voice answered.

  “What’s going on?” I demanded.

  “Ships are attacking!” she replied.

  “Why?”

  “Their radar tags don’t pull up in the system, if that tells you anything,” she said.

  I swore under my breath. “Be right there.”

  “What are you planning to do?” she asked.

  I was already out the door and fighting my way to the bridge. If I hadn’t been aware of the attack, I would have thought I was drunk from Guinea’s tea the way the hallway pitched me into every wall and corner. I was mad enough to fight a drezian barehanded by the time I reached the bridge and made my way through the door.

  The sight of Nova sitting in the Captain’s chair made me pause. I had thought her brother McKy would have taken over; seeing him in the Second’s chair brought a small smile to my face. Good for her.

  The screen above Junquit’s chair showed at least ten ships behind us, all of them striker gunships without any loyalty colors.

  “Mercenaries,” I said.

  Rockets flared and the SevenWolf shook with the impact. The screen beside the pilot showed that the shields were down to forty-five percent.

  Jashu Blu sat beside Junquit looking as terrified as I had ever seen him. All four of his hands gripped the arms of the chair and his eyes were glued to the screen above them.

  “How did they find us?” I asked.

  Nova glanced back at me. “No idea. They shouldn’t have been able to trace us this far from the Accords. We’re way beyond any regular flight path.”

  “Unless they’ve been following us since Akrul and chose now to show themselves,” McKy replied.

  “Why wait until now?” Nova asked her brother.

  His expression was grim when he said, “So they could kill us without anyone in the Accord Systems being the wiser.” His green Cadonian gaze turned to me. “Looks like you might have been better off on the forbidden planet, Gladiator.”

  I shook my head. “Give me a chance to fight any day. I’m going out there.”

  “There’s no way,” Nova said.

  “You’d be shot to pieces,” Junquit echoed.

&
nbsp; “Yeah,” Jashu Blu said. “I don’t have any other skull beetles to help you. They have lots of firepower on their side.”

  I lifted a shoulder. “A small, moving target is a lot harder to hit than a bright red ship in need of repairs.”

  “You’ll still be a target,” McKy pointed out.

  An idea struck me. “Jettison the garbage. They’ll think you’re trying to lighten the ship.”

  “But you’ll be part of the garbage,” Junquit said, realization dawning in her expression. “Smart.”

  “Brilliant,” Jashu Blu said. “Count me in.”

  “No,” everyone on the bridge said at the same time.

  I took pity on the young man. “I need someone to keep in touch with me over the coms, tell me where the ships are. I’ll be blind out there when I’m jettisoned. Can you do that?”

  He nodded quickly. “You can count on me, Kovak.”

  “Then it’s a plan,” I said.

  “Not a very good one,” Nova pointed out.

  “Better than letting the SevenWolf be torn to pieces,” I said.

  The ship shook again as if to emphasize my point.

  “Shields are down to thirty-seven percent,” Junquit announced. “If you’re doing anything, you’d better hurry.”

  I turned to the door.

  “I’m going with you.”

  I glanced back to see McKy rise from his seat.

  “You don’t have to,” I said.

  “I owe you for taking my place on Akrul,” he said. “Besides, this is my ship.”

  “Our ship,” Nova called out from her seat.

  McKy rolled his eyes. “Semantics. But there’s not going to be a ship unless we do something about it. We’ll follow the Smiren’s garbage plan.”

  “Are you calling it a garbage plan because you’re being jettisoned with the garbage, or because you think the plan’s garbage?” Jashu Blu asked.

  McKy didn’t answer. Instead, he turned to me and said, “Let’s go.”

  In the cargo hold, I gritted my teeth as I pulled the space suit on. I hated to admit just how sore my body was from the fight with the Quartet of Darkness. Apparently, battling for one’s life against very outmatched opponents wasn’t great for health.

  “You sure you’re up to this?”

  I wiped whatever had been showing of my pain from my face and nodded. “It’s either that or die when the shields fail. I’d rather keep fate in my own hands.”

  “I can respect that,” another voice said.

  We both looked up to see Gardsworn enter.

  “Nova sent you, too?” McKy asked.

  Gardsworn shrugged. “She mentioned you two were off to have fun without me.” He hefted the guns he carried. “Kaj figured a few of these should help.” He lifted a bag full of proximity grenades. “And if you get close enough, these will do some damage.”

  McKy and I took the weapons. I checked the sights. “What’s this ship doing with high-powered snipers?” I asked.

  Gardsworn and McKy glanced at each other but didn’t answer. I was tired of secrets, but it wasn’t time to press the matter.

  We reached the garbage hold to find Jashu Blu and Kaj shoving crates toward the pile of refuse next to the release hatch.

  “A few of these will be big enough to hide you,” the Verian said.

  “Couldn’t you have found garbage that was a little less odorous?” McKy asked.

  As he waved a hand in front of his face, I had to admit that the scent wafting from the pile wasn’t pleasant.

  The older man shrugged. “I figured the more realistic we made it, the more they’re likely to fall for it.”

  “Thanks,” McKy said flatly.

  I stifled a smile at the Cadonian’s lack of enthusiasm to be included with actual trash.

  “Lock your helmets,” Kaj said. “Keep in contact but don’t start shooting until you’re well beyond their notice. We’ll draw their fire until you’re ready.”

  The ship shuddered.

  “Sounds like we’re already good at that,” Jashu Blu said with a nervous glance at the hatch. “Good luck out there.”

  “Thanks,” McKy and I said at the same time.

  The Cadonian gave me a narrow-eyed look. I ignored it and grabbed onto one of the broken sides of a crate that towered over my head. “Let’s go.”

  “Right,” Kaj said. “I’ll open the hatch in ten.”

  Gardsworn and McKy found places among the rubble.

  “Gross,” McKy muttered. “Of course I found the kitchen refuse. Maybe I have time to—”

  The hatch opened and the garbage was jettisoned into space. The crate I crouched against turned so that I was facing the black expanse. My breath caught in my throat at the realization that there was nothing between myself and the endless void.

  It wasn’t my first time floating through the empty ‘Verse. A few awkward circumstances came to mind at the thought. Yet each time the knowledge that failed spacesuit thrusters or being abandoned by the ship would mean drifting endlessly until I either died of thirst or opened my shield to the inevitable was a heart-stopping one. Hopefully I had enough to offer to keep the SevenWolf crew from ditching me.

  I peered over the edge of the crate to see the debris float past the ships. Nobody paid attention to the jettisoned garbage, which was good because if they noticed us and turned before we had a chance to get beyond them, we would be shot to pieces. Our hope was to drift far enough past that they would have to turn to defend themselves and allow the SevenWolf to have a chance. If we were lucky, we could do significant damage with Kaj’s sniper rifles before the ships realized where the shots were coming from.

  I levered my gun over the top of the crate. A glance to the right showed McKy doing the same as his garbage container drifted past a striker who was peppering the side of the SevenWolf. I had to give Nova’s brother credit for following me on what I was prepared to admit was a foolhardy plan. Nobody could say the Count of the Loreandian System was a coward.

  “Shields are down to seven percent,” Junquit said over my headset communicator. “It’s now or never, guys.”

  “On my count,” I replied. “Three, two, one.”

  I took careful aim at the exhaust port beneath the nearest striker, let out a breath, and squeezed the trigger. The bullet struck true. Smoke billowed from the port and vanished in the vacuum of space. I switched targets and trained my sights on the communications cluster near the bridge of the next ship. A quick pull rendered the hub into a mess of wires and debris. Kaj certainly deserved credit for his choice of weapons.

  “They’re taking notice,” McKy said. “Get out of there, Gardsworn!”

  I looked to my right to see the green-skinned Mechadocian push away from his pile of debris and engage his thrusters.

  “Keep it with you,” I shouted over my headset. “Use the debris as a shield!”

  The lower gunner bay of the striker closest to him pivoted to face him. Gardsworn’s gasp sounded in my ears. My breath caught. I was about to see the man gunned to pieces.

  “Gardsworn, hit the circulation hose above his head!” McKy said, his voice high with fear.

  Gardsworn fired, but the bullet went wide. The ship closest to me was pivoting so that all three gun bays could tear me down. If I didn’t take them out before they got in range, their bullets would cut through me like paper. I gritted my teeth and swung my rifle in Gardsworn’s direction. I sighted past him to the circulation hose McKy was screaming about. A spark was quickly snuffed out from another miss. Gardsworn’s whispered prayer sounded in my ears. I let out a breath and squeezed the trigger.

  The moment my bullet struck the circulation hose, I kicked away from the crate I was holding onto and hit my thrusters. The crate was blasted to pieces, leaving me wide open. I shot the gun barrel of the first shooter and shifted my sight to the second fully aware that within precious seconds one of those bullets would pierce my spacesuit and release the oxygen, not to mention any damage the bullet would ca
use to my person. I clenched my jaw and willed my gun to swing faster. I was tempted to pull the trigger anyway, but knew the bullet would fly wide if I shot too soon. I braced myself for the inevitable impact.

  The gunner’s bay exploded. My eyes widened as the one next to it followed.

  “Kovak, behind you!”

  A glance over my shoulder made my heart slow. Five of the strikers had left the SevenWolf to target me. Why they cared was beyond my erratic thoughts. If I took the time, I could take one or two of them down with lucky shots, but not all five. The sight of every gunner bringing their weapons around the aim at me was surprisingly calming. I heard my breath in my ears. My heart gave a low thump, then another.

  How soon after being shot does the heart stop?

  It depends on if you take one in the heart or the brain.

  That’s a reassuring thought.

  How do you get yourself into these situations?

  “Bye, Nova,” I said aloud.

  My voice almost broke. They were simple words, but they were the only farewell I had ever uttered. Truth be told, I had never cared about anyone enough to say goodbye. Her face appeared in my mind, her beautiful green cat eyes sad. No smile lifted her perfect lips. It was the thought of disappointing her that made my heart ache. I had promised to protect her. She had given me a purpose. What good would I be to her dead?

  An explosion from the first ship turned my head. The second followed, then the third. I was close enough to see the eyes widen on the gunner in the fourth ship. I lifted a hand to indicate that I had no idea what was going on. The narrowing of his gaze would have been hilarious if it wasn’t followed by flames and then darkness.

  A bullet snagged at the sleeve of my space suit. I used my thrusters to spin and snipe at a striker beyond the others. My bullet struck the side of the hull harmlessly. Ice crawled across my skin at the sight of three of gunships turning to face me. I had no idea why they were so intent on bringing me down. I wasn’t the only target unless the SevenWolf had been neutralized. The thought made my chest clench, but there was no time to check.

  I squeezed the trigger and had the satisfaction of watching one gunner bay go up in flames. There was no way I would have time to take down another. I aimed anyway and found myself looking straight down the barrel of the gun that would tear through me. I let out a breath and squeezed the trigger.