Ovation (Galaxy Circus #9)

Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

Lila

T he ship gets under way the following day. A few deliveries and late arrivals held us up, but we are finally on a course for Earth via Vilax. My grandparents said their goodbyes at their estate. They didn’t want to leave Gigi on her own, and they promised to see us soon. When I questioned them about that, Saxon assured me he’d fill me in on everything once we were underway.

We just wrapped up a full meeting between the thirteen of us. It’s the first chance we’ve all had to be in the same place for more than a few moments since movie night. Even during the announcement last night, I didn’t really get to spend any time with all of them.

I briefed them on my grandmother’s story, and to say there were some shocked expressions is an understatement, then Saxon did as he promised and filled me in on the plan. I am highly impressed with it and can’t wait to execute it. There were a few half-hearted arguments against me assuming my Madovian form, but they were quickly shot down. Brannock sent the message to the Syndicate posing as the Madovian, telling them she had a lead on the orb and should have it in her hands by the time we get to Earth, which should be in about a week.

After the meeting, I take a seat in the captain’s chair on the flight deck, just wanting a moment to really absorb the fact that I am now the boss, but the adrenaline running through my system at the thought of what we have to do is exhilarating, and I’m restless, so I get up and start pacing. Bubby watches me, a silent beacon of support I am grateful for. I know if I wanted to talk, he would listen, but for now, I’m good.

My biggest focus at the moment is the keystone of the plan—the orb, or it’s actual location to be precise. When the guys asked me exactly where the orb of power was, I didn’t have an answer for them. My grandpas told me they would let me know when the time was right, which is not yet, apparently, but I can’t help speculating where. There are so many possible hiding places on the ship, it could take forever to find it, and it also gives me an excuse to ignore the fact that I am essentially going to become the goddess of death when we do deal with the Syndicate. I really don’t want that, and I have kept that little bit of information to myself. Zeydan is the only one who knows. I asked him not to say anything yet, and he has respected my wishes for now.

At the moment, he is meditating on the bio level. We cleared it out of any crew, and he’s going to try to draw some power and put out a galaxy-wide call for his siblings. Apparently he can send a burst of power that works like a beacon, which should get their attention, or that’s what we hope anyway. It turns out I was right, and Aarin is his long-lost brother. He made his home on Celestia and was content to be normal when his own search for Lilessa and Vivax failed. He said he did look for the others a few times over the past hundreds of years, but he could never get past Zeydan’s plant and animal defenses. He figured he hadn’t wanted to be found, so he let him be.

I suggested he help send the beacon, but Aarin needs air to boost his power, and artificial air from a ship doesn’t really cut it. His powers are limited like Zeydan’s after Vivax drained them. Before, neither of them needed to be around their element, but after, it’s the only thing that will power their magic, but at least they had that.

“Lila.” I stop my pacing at the sound of Bubby’s voice and look at him. I’d been so focused on putting one foot in front of the other that I had completely zoned out. I look around the flight deck and notice everyone is staring at me with curious faces.

Crap, not the best impression on my first day as captain of this hunk of junk. Yikes, Bubby would probably kill me for calling his precious a hunk of junk despite the cool Star Wars reference.

“Sorry, I have a lot on my mind,” I explain. “We reworked the show during our meeting, and Ghosie was going to send out a ship-wide rehearsal schedule. I’m just nervous to see what everyone thinks.” I’m probably oversharing, but I don’t care.

Everyone seems appeased by my explanation, and the scrutiny eases. “We’re being hailed by an Aquilian bird of prey, so we’ve dropped out of warp speed to answer it,” Bubby tells me, and I groan.

“Really? Fuck! Seriously, what does that evil hag want now? She made it perfectly clear that Nikos and our children were not wanted. When Nikos tried to contact his friend about her evil plans and his help in saving Nixie, he got no response.” Saving Nixie has been added to our to-do list, but not before we take care of everything else. She will be alright in the dungeon until we can get to her. Her mother won’t risk assassinating her, otherwise, she could start a civil war, and she doesn’t need any extra turmoil.

“One of my contacts tells me Aquilia is on the brink of civil war. The citizens have not taken kindly to the new queen’s rule. They say she is no better than her husband, and there are grumbles of a possible uprising,” Saxon says from the doorway to the bridge. Standing behind him are Brannock and Tirrian.

All three men join us as Bubby brings up the image of the Aquilian spaceship on the screen.

“We got the alert you sent out. Nikos is also on his way. He was swimming with the children. Link and Ghosie hurried down to help Caspian with them, so he won’t be long.”

Suddenly, Zeydan and Xavier appear in front of us, Zeydan’s hand on the warlock who stumbles slightly.

“Shit, warn a guy, will you?” he mutters as Zeydan releases him and steps forward, staring at the Aquilian ship.

“Who is on the ship?” Zeydan demands, and I roll my eyes.

“We haven’t quite gotten to that yet due to all the dramatic entrances.” I don’t hide the sarcasm. My men can be such drama queens. “But if it’s the sea snake, how much trouble would we be in if we blasted her out of the sky?”

“Probably not a lot if the rumors have credibility, but how would Nikos feel about you killing his mother?” Xavier asks dryly, and I arch an unamused eyebrow at him.

“Probably the same way he feels about the fact that you killed his dad,” I snarl, and he raises his hands in defense.

“Hey, that wasn’t me, that was my parents.”

“Same, same.” I turn my back on him and study the ship. “They aren’t being particularly aggressive, and they seem to be keeping pace. They hailed us?”

“Yes, but I haven’t accepted the message yet. Shall I wait for Prince Nikos?” the communications officer asks.

Just at that moment, Nikos arrives on deck. He’s wearing a vest and pants of what looks like black fish scales, making his skin and hair appear vibrant against the dark colors. It kind of looks like armor, and he must have had it stashed in his little house in the Aquilian habitat to be able to have put it on so quickly. He’s also carrying his large shiny trident in his left hand.

He pushes his wet hair back from his face and glares at the screen. “Hail them,” he instructs, the perfect picture of royal arrogance. You wouldn’t think he enjoyed being milked by his mates last night. I squirm at the memory and sit down, crossing my legs and nodding to the communications officer who looked to me for confirmation.

“Aquilian warbird, state your business. We have weapons locked on you and will fire unless you comply,” Bubby demands, and an image pops onto the screen. It’s Nixie.

“Stop, please, don’t! I’m requesting asylum,” she says quietly, not looking at us but off to the side of the screen.

“How do we know you are telling the truth, sister? For all we know, you are on a mission for our mother,” Nikos retorts sharply, and that finally has her raising her head. One of her eyes is puffy and swollen with a large, dark bruise around it.

“I’d rather get thrown into the Molstoy Trench than do anything for that sea witch,” she declares as another person moves into view. He has long, sky blue hair and matching eyes, with whirls of blue on his chest and neck that look like waves. He has a tattoo of a ferocious sea creature with huge teeth and spines on his right bicep, and he’s wearing the same kind of outfit as Nikos. It looks like scale-covered armor, but his is a deep ocean blue.

“Hurricane.” Nikos nods his head at the man who I know is his friend, the one Nikos was trying to contact to warn him about his mother’s plans and ask him for help.

“Tito?” Zeydan says, and the man turns his attention to my mate. His eyes widen in surprise.

“Zeydan, my brother. Is that you?”

“No, that can’t be your brother. That is my friend, Hurricane. We grew up together,” Nikos argues, sounding as confused as I am.

“Let us aboard, please, and we can explain everything,” Nixie begs, finally looking at me. “I don’t expect you to forgive me, Lila. I’ve been a terrible friend, but I beg you to listen to my story.”

“There are four life-forms aboard the ship,” our security officer cautions.

“Who is with you?” I ask her, unwilling to give in just yet despite wanting to. The safety of this ship is more important than my friendship with Nixie. She wasn’t above putting her people first, and neither am I.

“Hurri’s twin sisters are with us. He is their sole guardian since his parents recently died.” Her eyes are shadowed, and I bet their deaths had something to do with her mother.

“My friend, I am sorry,” Nikos says solemnly and looks at me, his eyes beseeching me to help them.

“Fine, but the war bird is too big to dock in the hangar,” I tell them, and Hurri shakes his head.

“If the uprising is unsuccessful, then Nerissa’s forces will be tracking us. She will not let us go. We need you to make it look like it was destroyed until we know if the coup is successful and we can return safely. It’s better to pretend we are dead until then.”

“I’ll head to the teleport bay and have them beamed over,” Nikos says, but before he can move, Hurri reaches out, clasps Nixie’s shoulder, and waves to someone off screen. Two young girls, I’d put their ages at about fourteen, momentarily move into the shot, and then the four of them disappear altogether.

“Hey!” Nikos shouts, sounding panicked, but Zeydan holds up his hand.

“Wait for it,” he says, and all of a sudden, they reappear directly in front of us, the packed flight deck getting even more crowded.

Nikos and Nixie hug, while Zeydan and Hurri do the same, and the two teenagers stand around awkwardly.

“How about we move into the war room? There is more space there, and Bubby can get this ship moving again. We are on a deadline to get to Vilax on time, and warp speed is the only way we can do that,” Brannock suggests and leads the way, leaving the crew to do what they need to do.

Our guests follow after him, with Saxon and Xavier close behind. Nikos and Zeydan are deep in conversation with Nixie and Hurricane.

“Can we do that? Don’t we all need to be strapped in to jump back into warp?” I ask Bubby, and he smiles.

“I will sound the alert, but the war room seats are equipped with harnesses, so you will all be fine.”

“Is someone going to take care of that?” Tirrian points to the war bird that is now back on the screen.

“Are we sure it was just the four of them on board?” I ask my security chief, and he nods.

“No sign of any other life-form. It’s clear to destroy.”

“Let’s move to a safe distance, and then you have the go ahead to fire on it,” Bubby tells the pilot and weapons officer.

“Come on then, let’s go and see what drama awaits us now.” Tirrian holds out his hand, and I take it, then we follow after the others. The warp siren sounds, giving the ship’s occupants a five-minute warning to strap in.

In the war room, which is really just a big conference room with a table with holographic capabilities, everyone is taking a seat. As they place their asses in the chairs, harnesses snap out from the back rest and slide over the occupant before latching into the seat. The base of the chairs are built into the floors and can’t be moved around, unless you want to swivel in them, but it looks like the mechanism locks when the harness snaps into place.

Zeydan waves me over and gestures to Hurricane. “I’d like you to meet my brother, Tito,” he says, and the male holds up a hand.

“I go by Hurricane now. Tito is a relic of a former life.”

Zeydan nods his understanding. “Markit said much the same thing. He goes by Aarin now.”

Hurricane’s eyes light up. “You have seen him?” He sounds hopeful, and Zeydan rocks back on his heels, looking smug.

“He is here on this ship. It will be one hell of a reunion.”

“Quickly, take a seat so you don’t get smooshed when we jump into hyperspace,” Xavier instructs, letting his mist fall away. After giving me a quick kiss, he makes his way to a chair. Ever the gentleman, he guides the two wide-eyed teenagers and helps them into theirs. I can see crushes form and stars in their eyes as they giggle to each other while he takes his own seat with a dramatic flourish.

“So tell us everything,” I demand as I take my own seat at the head of the table, Brannock on one side and Saxon on the other. Both of them are on high alert for any misdeeds from our guests. It’s good to be queen—I mean ringmaster.