Echo

  Echo

  Book 8 of the New Dawn

  Valerie J. Mikles

  Contents

  The story so far

  The Crew

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  FREE SHORT STORY!

  The Qinali Virus

  Also by Valerie J. Mikles

  About the Author

  Dedicated to the dreamers who break the mold and defy expectations.

  The story so far

  #1 The Disappeared – Oriana’s crew became the target of the Terranan Guard after a former Disappeared, Amanda Gray, escaped her Elysian prison and resurfaced. Leveraging the power of the Elysians, disgraced Guard, Diana Solvere pursues Amanda across the expanse of outer space. In the fight for their lives, Oriana loses their pilot, Corey, and the ship crashes far from home.

  #2 Sequestered – Sky and Hawk join the crew when Oriana makes a narrow escape from Rocan, a dying city in desperate need of Oriana’s resources. In exchange for Hawk’s help, Captain Danny Matthews promises he will find and bring back medicine to save Hawk’s people.

  #3 Trade Circle – While exploring the ruins of an ancient city, Danny and Saskia fall victim to a deadly disease. Sky reaches out to the nomadic tribes in the area and invites a heap of new trouble when her spirit-carrier nature is revealed. Although Oriana’s crew is offered medicine, the demanded price of Sky’s life is too high, and they rush to save her.

  #4 Hybrid – Oriana arrives in Boone expecting a technologically advanced civilization only to find a ghost town. The sole survivors of the destruction are two human-spirit hybrids, Kerris and Liza. Realizing that Hawk is a hybrid as well, Liza becomes convinced Hawk can teach her how to undo the destruction of Boone. When a nearby tribe realizes that Liza may be able to resurrect their lost family members, they force her to try, and trigger an even worse destruction.

  #5 The Gray Market – Danny and Tray learn that their mother was once in the business of capturing hybrids and selling their powers. In their absence from Quin, Lois Ketlin has risen to power by stealing their mother’s technique, and she is determined to destroy the Matthews brothers in the process. In the aftermath of Ketlin’s defeat, Morrigan and Chase join the crew to escape the city and start their lives fresh.

  #6 The Confluence – While in the process of saving Sky, the crew uncovers Deivon Parker’s plot to break into the realm of the half-breeds using a modified artificial gravity source called the Confluence. When the crew realizes this special stone could punch a hole between the physical and spirit realms, and possibly destroy the solar system, they bring down the entire government to stop him.

  #7 Premonition –Amanda shares a premonition with the Nolan Magistrate, and begins a search for a half-breed hiding among them. Accused of colluding with spirits, Danny and Sky are taken prisoner. Tray and Saskia save the Magistrate’s son and negotiate a trade for the lives of their crew. There’s just one problem—their hostage doesn’t want to go home. Corin Toulane joins the crew to escape persecution.

  The Crew

  Danny Matthews – After his stepfather rejected him, he moved to Terrana, only to be caught in a Revolution. After the Revolution, he became part of a Citizens’ Channel, transporting refugees from Terrana to Aquia. At many points, he found himself captured, interrogated, and abused by the Terranan Guard. He became captain of Oriana after reuniting with his estranged brother, Tray.

  Tray Matthews – He comes from wealth, but grew up not knowing he had a brother. After a falling out with his father and a messy divorce, he went seeking family and has been clinging to his brother ever since. Tray recently found out that he has a son, and they finally reunited on his return to Quin, but disagreements with his ex-wife may yet tear them apart.

  Saskia Serevi – A former Terranan Guard, Saskia joined Oriana’s crew “three captains ago” after a paralyzing injury drove her from service. She takes the mantle of the stoic warrior, but also nominal mechanic and medic. She and Tray have a blooming romantic relationship.

  Amanda Gray – A former Disappeared, she died in captivity multiple times, and she’s learned that her lost memories can never be restored. She has a strong connection to the spirit realm, and has recently discovered that she can echo the powers of hybrids. She also suffers schizophrenia, and often has difficulty parsing her spirit-world insights from her delusions.

  Douglas “Hawk” Hwan – Hawk is an engineer whose aptitude for machines comes from a hybrid nature. He’s learned that he can unlock doors, jam weapons, and turn electrical devices off and on with the power of his mind. He worries about his children growing up with untapped hybrid abilities, but feels like he can’t go home without medicine for his people.

  Sky – A spirit-carrier, she has no ability to communicate with the Seer that possesses her. She has lived her life as a traveler because she fears if she stays in one place too long, Spirit will find a way to kill her and jump into a new host. Although over a hundred years old, Spirit keeps her looking young.

  Dr. Morrigan Zenzele – After Lois Ketlin, the reigning drug lord of Quin, killed her parents, Morrigan used drugs to escape her pain. She credits Tray’s arrival and need for her as motivation for staying clean. She joined Oriana’s crew as a doctor because she is no longer allowed to practice medicine in Quin.

  Chase DuPlessis – Chase met Danny five years ago when they designed and built the Bobsled together. His passion for building and fixing ships drew him to Kemah to help with Oriana’s repairs. When he discovered his fiancé was pregnant with another man’s baby, he joined Oriana’s crew to escape. On Terrana, he suffered a debilitating injury to his dominant hand, and has limited dexterity.

  Prince Corin Toulane – Corin has suffered abuse for years for protecting same-sex couples during his city’s Festival. When he fell in love with Hawk, revealing his own sexuality, they were both beaten, and thrown in a river to drown. Rescued by Tray, Corin found a second chance on Oriana, and asked for sanctuary. His mother, trying to make amends, faked his death to help him flee.

  1

  Rain poured over the rolling hills, pounding on the hull of Oriana. The deafening noise drowned out the sounds of conversation, laughter, anxiety, and nightmares echoing through the halls. Gusts of wind rocked the ship, and rising water threatened to sweep it away.

  Former Prince Corin Toulane had never lived outside of the protection of a dome and being trapped on a grounded spaceship made him feel claustrophobic. The spaceship was almost as old as the settlements on Aquia. Its name, Oriana, harkened to a spirit of one of Aquia’s oldest religions, which no one on the ship seemed to follow despite everyone knowing that spirits existed. One of their crew members was even possessed by one. A week ago, that thought would have consumed Corin, but now, his view of the world had changed… to one of perpetual rain.

  For about three months when he was sixteen, Corin had a
pprenticed as a shepherd, and he’d learned to recognize approaching storms so they could herd the sheep to shelter before the rain began. Oriana had been parked on this rocky plateau in the foothills of a nearby mountain range for almost a week, and there was no sign the rain would let them leave any time soon.

  The Captain had opened the rear hatch earlier to counter the musty smell, and the summer rain made the whole ship hot and humid. Corin stood by the door, debating stepping into the rain to rinse off the layer of sweat coating his skin, but with his cracked ribs still healing, he didn’t relish the idea of changing his clothes after.

  Bolts of lightning shot through the sky, making the scene flash as bright as day. The hillside turned red as the rain loosened the soil and made mudslides. Trees swayed back and forth in the wind, pelted by heavy rain. Corn gasped at the rumble of thunder, which agitated his ribs, making him gasp even harder. The Virp on his wrist beeped, the medical alert program detecting his distress, and he tapped the screen to indicate that he didn’t need help.

  “Corin!” Tray Matthews called, poking his head through the middeck hatch. “You all right?”

  Corin couldn’t shout without hurting himself. Last week, he’d been beaten to a bloody pulp, tied up, and thrown into gator-infested waters. Hateful slurs had been carved into his skin, and sometimes he could still feel the knife slicing his skin. Tray had dove into the river and saved Corin’s life.

  Corin tapped his Virp again so he could whisper his response.

  “Fine,” Corin said. It hurt to talk.

  “Good. I’m closing the door before my hair gets any bigger,” Tray said. He had dark, shoulder length hair, that had frizzed out to double the size of his head. Corin’s fine, chestnut hair was weighed down by sweat and oil. “If you start up the stairs now, you might get to the galley in time for lunch.”

  Corin laughed, which felt good for his soul, even if it hurt his body. His previous attempts to navigate the stairs were part of the reason for the medical alert program on the Virp. He shuffled toward the stairs, one arm loosely guarding his ribs. The longer he was on bedrest, the stiffer his limbs became. The ramp behind him started to close, catching water and dumping it into the airlock, where it drained again. This ship was incredible, and Corin couldn’t wait to see what it was like to take it into space!

  Tray disappeared through the hatch, leaving Corin alone at the base of the stairs. Corin had a bed on this level, in a passenger bay situated between the infirmary and the crew lounge.

  The cargo bay had two vessels in it: a single engine glider, and a gravity-powered capsule. The room spanned almost the full height of the ship, making it the least claustrophobic, and also the least climate stabilized. As far as cargo, Oriana held three boxes of moonslate carried back from Terrana, one of the Aquia’s moons.

  The moonslate fascinated Corin. His people, the Nolans, didn’t have spaceships, and the last moonslate that passed through their city had come centuries ago when the planet was in crisis and the domes were rapidly being built to protect survivors.

  Glancing up the stairs, Corin checked to make sure he was alone, then snuck to the storage spot under the stairs and considered the three massive boxes. Pressing the control panel on one, a latch released, and the lid of the box glided sideways. Moonslate was strong and sturdy, and the raw ore had crystalline threads that ran through the black rock. Even in its raw form, power radiated from it. Corin felt its pull instantly.

  The stones didn’t just emanate artificial gravity, they somehow channeled power between this realm and the realm of spirits. The crew called them Confluence stones. Corin heard a scream come from the lower deck, and he jumped in surprise. Pain shot through his body, setting off the medical alert bracelet again.

  “Corin?” Douglas Hwan called, his voice coming through the Feather even though he was standing at the top of the stairs. The others called him Hawk, but he said he preferred hearing his name from Corin’s lips. He was a hybrid with spirit power over machines, and the Confluence stones made him jittery.

  There was another scream from the lower deck. Two sets. Amanda and her doctor, Morrigan.

  “Saskia, Danny! Medical bay! Amanda!” Douglas hollered, charging down the metal stairs. Dust rained down as boots clattered on the stairs and Corin ducked his head, struggling to clear his throat without coughing.

  In the middle of the bay, Douglas whipped around and locked eyes on him. Or rather, his eyes locked on the open box.

  “Close the box. Close it!” he hollered, running over. He pushed Corin aside and slammed the lid shut, locking it. Corin hit the ground, seeing stars. He couldn’t help but cry out, and the pain worsened. The stairs rattled and the deck plates vibrated beneath him, as if to punish him for opening the box.

  “Bébé,” Douglas whispered, kneeling over him and cradling his face. “What happened? Did she open the box? Did she take a Confluence?”

  Every breath ached, but if he could die looking at Douglas, he’d die happy. “I opened it,” he admitted.

  “Why?” Douglas looked over his shoulder, toward the hatch again, and shook his head.

  “I’m sorry,” Corin said. He didn’t have a reason, and was disappointed in himself for betraying the person he cared deepest for. “I won’t…” He didn’t have enough breath to finish the promise.

  “Lie still. Shh,” Douglas said. “This is bad. Very bad.”

  Saskia heard two sets of screams, one from Amanda and the other from Morrigan. Zipping down the forward ladder, she landed in the cramped crew lounge and the open hatch gave her a clear view of the empty hall. Drawing her stunner, she crept into the hall.

  The Captain barreled down the hall from the other direction, shouting Amanda’s name, not caring to exercise caution or stealth.

  “Saskia! Help Morrigan!” he hollered.

  The screaming stopped, and Danny wrestled Amanda into the hall. Amanda waved a medical Virp and shouted Morrigan’s name. Danny pulled her clear of the door so Saskia could get in. A light spattering of blood dotted the gray countertops. Morrigan hid under the bed, using a stool to jab at Saskia’s feet when she got close.

  “What happened?” Saskia asked, catching the leg of the stool and tugging. Releasing the stool, Morrigan cupped both hands over her bleeding cheek, sobbing. Saskia pulled Morrigan’s hand off her cheek and shuddered in revulsion at the broken needle protruding from the skin.

  “Well, that’s a problem,” Saskia joked, steeling her nerves as she examined the wound. The needle pierced through Morrigan’s cheek and splintered her tongue.

  “I came for meds,” Amanda moaned from the hall. She hung in Danny’s arms, weary but tense. “I didn’t mean to hurt her. Something took over me. I didn’t mean to!”

  “It’s those Confluence stones. Corin opened the box,” Hawk said, striding angrily down the hall. “She must have picked up an echo. I felt something, too.”

  “You didn’t stab anyone, did you?” Saskia asked, glancing up, worried that Morrigan wasn’t the only victim.

  “Captain, we have to get those things off the ship. Now,” Hawk scowled, his eyes narrowed. “They go, or I go. I don’t even care if I die alone in the rain.”

  “Get Chase and get working on a plan,” Danny said, keeping a tight grip on Amanda.

  “You didn’t happen to sense a healer out there, did you? I could really use a healer echo,” Saskia said.

  “You’re not giving her a Confluence! Look what she did!” Hawk cried. He tried to rush the infirmary, but Danny grabbed him by the elbow and shoved him back toward the cargo bay.

  “Either of you know why Morrigan used a needle today and not a jet?” Saskia asked.

  “She was inserting the med-cap. So much for that plan,” Danny said, wrapping both arms around Amanda again. When they were flying without gravity, the subcutaneous medicine capsule didn’t work as well, but now that they were on the ground, the steady medicine release was meant to save them from Amanda’s highs and lows. That meant Morrigan had a broken cap
sule and three-months-worth of anti-psychotics coursing through her body. Saskia had to find and extract every piece of the capsule.

  “If I give you an anesthetic, will it kill you?” Saskia asked Morrigan. She pried the first part of the broken needle out of Morrigan’s cheek, and the puncture wound left behind looked tiny.

  Morrigan’s hand moved rapidly, writing the letters on the bed.

  “Detox. You’re asking for Detox,” Saskia said. The Detox drug would counter the drugs Amanda had injected into Morrigan’s tongue, but it would also neutralize any anesthetic Saskia gave her. “Can it wait until I get this out?”

  Morrigan wrote the letter ‘N.’ Her eyes welled with tears and she stayed as still as possible, but everything below the neck was trembling. Fearing Morrigan would go into toxic shock if she delayed, Saskia loaded a jet with Detox, making the dose high enough that it would act quickly. Next came surgery, and for that, Morrigan was going to be awake.

  2

  Danny sat Amanda on the infirmary’s second bed and held her in place while he called up her chart on the computer. Morrigan was good at keeping charts, and she’d taught him how to read her notes so that he could identify and administer Amanda’s meds when she needed them. Given the circumstances, he wasn’t sure he should re-use today’s cocktail, but Amanda seemed fine now. If it was the Confluence that had triggered her, then this was his fault.