War Head (Starship for Sale Book 9)

WAR HEADSTARSHIP FOR SALEBOOK 9 M.R. FORBES Published by Quirky Algorithms Seattle, Washington This novel is a work of fiction and a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons or events is purely coincidental. Copyright © 2023 by Quirky Algorithms All rights reserved. Cover illustration by Tom Edwards Edited by Merrylee Lanehart CHAPTER 1 The long distance between Cicana and Atlas and our relative velocity entering the void left me and the other members of Team Hondo drifting in the emptiness for what felt like far too long. The now-familiar, overwhelming sense of loneliness and despair tore at me, a monster trying to rip apart my sanity from the inside out. I wasn’t as worried about myself as I was Quasar, Shaq, Ixy, and most especially Emerald and the Aleal who had taken the form of Prince Hiro. I knew Alter had transited from Earth back to the Spiral with Keep plenty of times, but I didn’t know how the passage would affect the less mature Aleal. I could only wonder if passing through the void without the benefit of a ship, fully exposed to the dimension, would have any kind of dire effect on him. And Emerald? She already struggled to maintain a semblance of sanity. Would the effect of the rift further disrupt her already tenuous mental state? I wouldn’t know until we reached the other side of the rip in spacetime that was just becoming visible ahead. Quasar squeezed my shoulder more tightly. A glance at her revealed a fearful glint in her eyes and a mournful set of her jaw. Looking past her to Emerald, my worries about her and Hiro seemed unfounded. As we drifted across the void, the Aleal looked wide-eyed and serene, and Emerald's mouth was open, her eyes bright as she laughed despite the lack of air. It figured. We drifted across the void. It seemed like it took a few minutes, but I knew better. Only a handful of seconds passed within the fabric of the universe, the time inside the nothingness warped outside of true perception. If the crossing took as long as it seemed, only Hiro would have avoided suffocation. Reaching the other end, I stumbled as my feet hit the carpeted floor of the suite we had stayed in at the Galaxian the last time we were on Atlas. I tripped over my own feet and collapsed face first. Too disoriented to let go of my shoulder, Quasar went down with me. The fall triggered a domino effect that left only Ixy upright, looming over the pile as the tear in spacetime faded away behind us. Draped over Quasar’s back, Emerald's howling laughter continued, mingling with her huge gasps for air. I would have laughed with her at the ridiculous pileup, but the energy cost of the transit left me in a cold sweat. I could do nothing but lay there on the soft carpet, fear of further paralyzation nearly sending me into a full panic. “That was so awesome,” she hooted. Hiro was on the floor next to her, having fallen out of her grasp. “When can we do that again?” “How about never?” Quasar suggested. "I think I’m going to be sick.” “Then get off me,” I said as I worked my fingers and toes, checking all my limbs to ensure I still had use of them. "I can barely breathe." Hiro was the first one back on his feet, a confused look on his distorted face. The Aleal had lost some control over his form. His eyes were sunk back in his head, his nose nearly gone, his hair displayed in huge chunks like he was in an old video game. His gaze snapped from me to Emerald to Ixy in rapid fire. Of course, he ran. “You little shit!” Emerald shouted, jumping to her feet. “What did I tell you? If you don’t behave, Ixitat’s going to eat you!” Sprinting for the door, he vaulted over a sofa with ease. If I hadn’t already known he wasn’t human, the leap would have confirmed it. “Ixy,” I said, still on my stomach. “Do you mind?” She clacked in laughter and bounced after him, her leap bringing her down behind him just as he reached the door. She turned and lowered her abdomen to launch a blob of webbing up and over him. It splattered against the door, holding it tight to the frame. Hiro unsuccessfully tried to pull it open. “Please!” Hiro cried. “Let me go. I just want to go home.” Quasar and I cast confused glances at one another. From the moment we found Hiro, he had acted like I would have expected the Empress’ son might act. I didn’t blame him for being afraid. We were admittedly frightening, especially Ixy, and there hadn’t been time yet to explain anything to him. From the layout of the apartment where we found him, I wasn’t even sure he knew he wasn’t at home already, or maybe staying at another property owned by the Royal Family. That part wasn’t a problem. At all. The problem was that he acted like he didn’t know he wasn’t really the prince, which made zero sense whatsoever. “Why don’t you calm down and go look out that window?” Emerald said, pointing to the floor-to-ceiling wall of glass at the other end of the room. “Because you are home. Unless you mean the primordial goo planet your kind originates from.” “You don’t know it’s a primordial goo planet,” I said, moving to my knees as restore helped return some of my strength. A glance at my hand showed me I was nearly out of juice, but had enough left in the tank to recover. “I never described it to you because Alter never described it to me.” “My kind?” Hiro asked. “What do you mean?” Emerald glanced at me. I shook my head emphatically, to prevent her from telling him the truth he didn’t seem to already