Survivor (23 page)

"How dare you," Codon spat from the
floor.

"No," Nova said, holding up her uninjured
hand. "How dare you! I saved your life and you turn on me like the
good-for-nothing coward that you are. You will leave and never
bother me again."

"How am I supposed to explain what happened
here?" Codon said.

"I don't give a damn. That's not my
problem."

"There is a fortune of alien tech down
there. If the Confederacy thought that I lost it, I'd be thrown
into a black-hole."

Codon's voice cracked. He was losing a lot
of blood through his knee, and the pain must have been
unbearable.

Nova couldn't find much sympathy for him.
After everything that they'd done, he betrayed her. Not that she
should be surprised. That's how things always played out, in the
end.

"You're a smart man, right?" she said,
wobbling as a wave of dizziness washed over her.

He didn't reply.

"I'm going to blow that alien tech to the
multiverse. Now, weren't there some terrorists here recently?" she
said.

Even through the pain, Codon's eyes opened
wide.

"There you go," Nova said.

A part of her wanted to see him dead. She
wanted to watch him pay for his betrayal. But she'd seen enough
death to last a lifetime; she decided that a broken knee would be
punishment enough, this time.

"Fine," Codon said, breathless.

"Good," Nova replied. "I would suggest you
stay right there until I'm off the vessel."

"I can't exactly go anywhere," Codon ground
out. His nostrils flared as he glared at her.

She nodded back and hobbled away. She
lurched from one desk to another until she reached the corridor and
from there she used the wall to hold herself upright. Cal hovered
behind her, his gun still out and ready for any sign of betrayal.
She had to stop every few steps to regain her breath and to push
past the pain welling inside her. She'd lost track of her injuries
and knew only that if she didn't get help soon she'd be dead.

After what felt like a lifetime she reached
the small side door. When she opened it, there was just a small
drop to the sandy desert below.

She took one last glance, but Codon was
nowhere to be seen. She took a deep breath and stepped down from
the ship. Her new foot landed on the sand and gave out under her
weight. The rest of her body collapsed to the ground in a sprawling
heap. New pain surged out of her chest and she succumbed to the
darkness.

***

Nova became aware of a constant beeping and
a bright light moving across her closed eyelids. She could hear
something moving to her right. The last thing she remembered was
falling out of Codon's ship but it didn't feel like she was lying
on sand. The surface beneath her was soft but firm.

Her eyes flickered open. There was a bright
light above her head and to her right was Cal, floating in the air
above her body. At least five of his compartments were open and
tools whipped past her head towards her body, out of sight.

"Cal," she said. Her throat was dry and the
words stung.

"You're awake!" he said.

"What happened?"

"With a lot of trouble I managed to get your
lazy body back to Crusader. I don't know how you managed to get so
injured."

She didn't have the strength to smile. "Me
neither. How long have I been out?"

"Five hours. The Confederacy ship left as
soon as you got out."

"Five hours. We've got to get rid of all
that stuff. Codon will have Confederacy soldiers swarming this
place in no time."

It hurt to talk and to think, all she really
wanted to do was sink back into unconsciousness but if she did that
then the Confederacy would get hold of the Ancient's technology and
that was almost as bad as the Ancient's still being alive.

"I'm taking care of it," Cal said.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Nova clutched her side as she sat on the workbench and leant
against Crusader. Cal had barely finished stitching her up but she
refused to stay bedridden. Her hand was coated in a soothing gel
and wrapped in a thick bandage. Cal had reset her ribs as best he
could. She had a box of Parapem strips by her right hand and was
popping them like mints.

Cal lugged a fuel canister the size of a
small child through Crusader's door and stacked it against four
others. Other pieces from the Confederacy ships, including computer
hardware and basic weapons, were loaded into the cargo pods; they
would fetch a fair price in the shipyards. Luckily the Confederacy
vehicles had also been packed with medical supplies because Cal had
used everything they had and then some to patch her up.

"How's the fuel-cell coming, Crusader?"

"Whilst I have an interface with the
labourbot, it would be faster for you to ask him directly,"
Crusader replied.

Nova's face flushed hot. How had she gotten
the names confused?

"Does it matter who I ask?" she snapped.
"Just tell me how long."

"Fifteen minutes until completion," Cal
said.

She closed her eyes and leant against the
cool wall. Her latest dose of Parapem was starting to wear off and
pain was seeping back up from her hand and chest. She shook her
head and focused on Cal reattaching a new fuel cell to take her
mind off it.

She frowned as she thought about the last
few days.

"Did I do the right thing?" she said.

"When?" Cal asked.

"I killed them all," she said. "Who's to say
they deserved to die so human colonies could live?"

"That is a question for philosophers," Cal
said.

"I don't think they'll ever know."

"Then it's a moot question," Cal said.

"There are still voices everywhere," she
said.

"Temporal scans reveal abnormal readings
around you," said Cal as he continued to work.

"So what? I'm at risk of falling through
time for the rest of my life?"

"Perhaps," Cal said. "The Cloud has no
mention of such technology and my processors cannot conceive of
such a possibility."

"Great," she said.

"Based on what we've seen, it's exacerbated
by your emotions. So stay calm," Cal said.

"Thanks." Her head drooped to stare at the
floor.

"Is there any record of something like this
happening before?" she asked.

"Some have claimed to be able to reach into
time, but they've all been proved hoaxes. You're the only one."

"I don't think I can control it."

"Then one day it will probably kill
you."

"Was that a joke?"

"No."

She felt sudden vertigo.

"You really should stay calm," Cal
continued.

Nova grimaced. The robot was right.

"Just my luck I suppose," she said.

"There's no such thing as luck," Cal
replied.

"No, I don't think there is," Nova said, and
shivered.

She stared at the monsters at the edge of
her vision. They leered back at her, their mouths open.

She took a deep breath and shook the shadows
from her shoulders.

"That fuel cell ready?"

"Affirmative."

"And you set the charges?"

"Affirmative."

"Alright, let's get out of here."

She limped to the pilot's pod and prepared
for ignition. She couldn't remember ever having been so happy to
leave a planet, even when she left her childhood home of T… She
still couldn't remember its damned name.

She sighed with relief as Crusader's
thrusters engaged and they shot away from the planet, leaving the
relics of the Ancients far behind.

When they were out of range, Cal initiated
the charges and they detonated in a plume of flames. The carefully
piled bodies, weapons and ships were engulfed in the extreme heat.
By the time Crusader went out of sight, everything was gone. Every
last remnant of the Ancients was incinerated and turned into
ashes.

Nova grimaced. If her latest run-in with the
Confederacy had taught her anything, it was that they couldn't be
trusted. She needed to get free of their damned influence and there
was only one way to do that. She had to get past the border. The
invisible barrier incinerated everything that tried to cross it,
everything except Confederacy approved vehicles.

She dreamed of breaking through that fence
and making it into true outer space; where even the Confederacy
couldn't reach her. There had to be a way to do it; some smugglers
could get past. She had a long way to go before she would manage
it. Luckily she was out of the Confederacy's radar; at least for
now.

She shifted uncomfortably as the chair dug
into her injured side.

"Cal, start digging up everything you can on
the old colonization ships. They had a way to get past the
Confederacy border and we have to find out how they did it. But
before we hit soil again I'm going to learn to time travel."

In the wake of the destruction of the
Ancients she thought about her new power. She was determined to
take control of it because she knew that if she didn't, it would
consume her.

Nova's Journey Continues…

After her encounter with the Ancients, Nova
is more determined than ever to break free of the Confederacy.

When she arrives on a planet that's been
silent for over one hundred and fifty years, she discovers that the
planet is far from abandoned.

In order to survive, Nova and her companions
must fight.

When a historical enemy emerges, there will
be more than their lives at stake.

The Nova Chronicles continue with Book Two:
Pilgrim
.

Find more information at:

http://www.saffronbryant.com/books/pilgrim

http://www.saffronbryant.com/free-books

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The Lost Child Saga - An Epic Fantasy
Series

The Fallen
Star

The Herald
of Darkness

The Hordes
of Anarchy

The Nova Chronicles

Survivor

Pilgrim

Hunter

Gambler

Justice

Junkie

Adventurer

Prisoner

Stranger

Saffron Bryant
was born on the 17th
December 1990 in a small town in North Queensland. In 2010 she was
diagnosed with a brain tumour. After extensive, life-saving surgery
she returned to her home in Queensland to recover and finish The
Fallen Star. She received a Bachelor of Biomedical Science in
2011.

Saffron has been interested in fantasy and
science fiction writing from a very young age, writing her first
story at the age of seven. She has always been fascinated by
fantasy stories and has a passion for The Lord of the Rings and The
Hobbit. Saffron currently lives in Sydney with her partner Michael
Lee where she is completing her PhD in chemistry.

Connect with Saffron:

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www.saffronbryant.com

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