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    Hena Day Four
    Hena Day Four
    Hena Day Four
    Ebook189 pages2 hours

    Hena Day Four

    By Odette C. Bell

    ()

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    About this ebook

    The end is here; the final day is upon them.
    The odds are against the resistance, but nothing will stop them from fighting. They have one clear objective – stop the Cartaxians from opening a dimension gate.
    The Cartaxians know how much they are willing to lose to claim victory. They’ll gamble every unit, every man, and every ship as long as they win.
    Hena can only win if she’s willing to lose more.
    ....
    Hena follows a castaway superweapon and a hidden alien prince fighting to save Earth from an alien invasion. If you love your space operas with action, comradery, and a splash of romance, grab Hena Day Four today and soar free with an Odette C. Bell series.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOdette C. Bell
    Release dateMar 2, 2018
    ISBN9781370723720
    Hena Day Four

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      Book preview

      Hena Day Four - Odette C. Bell

      Chapter 1

      Linh

      She didn’t like this one bit. There were still so many questions left unanswered.

      She had no idea what had happened to her up on that mountaintop when she’d frozen on the spot, her eye-opening and staring up at the sky as if it had been a path right down into her soul.

      Hell, the so-called distributed intelligence that had infected her mind hadn’t even revealed why the Cartaxians had gone after Harry.

      Dammit, there was still so much to find out.

      But one thing was for sure, the time for thinking was done.

      Kim stood above them on a ridge, his body outlined by light from below. It was night again, but you couldn’t tell that from the sheer illumination bleeding up this hill. And the reason for the powerful glow was the massive hovering light bots circling the valley below. They lit up a pit that had been dug deep into the earth like some hole for a massive coffin.

      Coffin, ha? A fitting image, because the Tau ship down there felt just as creepy as an untouched grave.

      Maybe creepy was the wrong word, Linh mused as she slowly brushed her hand over her arm, feeling the equivalent of her human hair responding to the touch.

      What she felt inside her at the proximity of that ship was… an ache. It came from deep down inside her, and before she could conclude that it had to be some long-lost memory, she could recognize it was something the intelligence had left behind. This need – this overpowering need – to stop all knowledge of the dimension gates from ever getting out.

      Harry was beside her, sitting low, one knee pressed into the muddy ground below him as he kept his watchful gaze locked on Kim.

      While Kim looked like he was simply standing on that ridge, posing like a superhero, he most certainly wasn’t. She could practically feel his powerful onboard information processors working from here. And that was no misuse of words. She could feel it. It was a latent sense left over from sharing his mind during that fight with the ten attack bots.

      Even now… she swore she could still share some of his thoughts. Or his fear at the very least.

      Though Kim had outright told the distributed intelligence that this mission was impossible, they were doing it anyway. Because what choice did they have?

      Even if they sat this one out, the fight would come to them. And at the thought of trying to sit it out, Linh’s whole body reacted in a visceral wave that threatened to knock her off her feet.

      Kim suddenly turned, his powerful body outlined by the reflected light coming in from the valley below. It didn’t matter that this hill was a good 500 meters above the valley – and thankfully outside of the Cartaxian’s sensor net – the light could have lit up all of Japan. It made the Endo look like he was some angel or something. And fortunately for Earth he was an avenging one.

      With nothing more than a look, Kim nodded. He didn’t bother to waste his breath pointing out that this was it. All he managed was a simple tick of his head. Then he stepped backward off the ledge behind him.

      Though Linh knew that there was little this side of a team of special commandos that could take down the Endo, that didn’t stop her body from tightening and a pulse of fear from slamming into her gut.

      Before she could react too much, she felt Harry shift. He slid a hand to the side and placed it on hers.

      It anchored her. Though maybe she could try to put that down to the fact that as a human on Planet Earth, Harry Edwards had been inundated with the special energies of this area of space – including the unique properties of Earth being an anchor, as the distributed intelligence had put it – she quickly knew she was kidding herself.

      The reason Harry Edwards anchored her was that he cared.

      And you know what? Maybe Linh cared for him, too.

      She let the smallest smile spread her lips. There was only so long a battle brain like her could ignore the obvious facts, after all.

      But obvious or not, the fight for the end of the world was about to begin….

      Chapter 2

      Hena

      She could feel it building. All around her. All through everything. From the smallest creature to the greatest whale – it was as if every living being on Planet Earth had a growing understanding of what was to come next.

      As Hena stood there on top of the rusted metal roof of the cargo ship’s bridge, she tilted her head back and stared at the brilliant sky above. The sun was setting. They’d been on this ship for hours now, and the Cartaxians still hadn’t discovered them, but the hunt would be on.

      She found one hand curling into a fist, then another. She enjoyed the move. It liberated her. All those times during the first stage of the invasion when her hand had naturally wanted to curl – she did them justice now as she crunched her fingers in with all her might, allowing them to charge with the power of her light form.

      Though her head was ostensibly directed up as she appeared to stare at the sky, most of her attention – as always – was locked on Nick. For no matter what happened, it didn’t seem as if she would ever be able to lose track of him again. It was as if he’d become a permanent fixture of her mind – a new feature of her sense of self, as Nick Hancock had somehow wheedled into her very ego.

      And right now that connection to Nick told her that Amal was going through with the rite. Just as he’d promised down in the subway under Jake Hancock’s tower, Amal intended to use his unique skills as a Centauri to unlock the memories buried in Nick.

      Though that thought unsettled Hena, she had to push away her fear. Though reason told her Nick wasn’t ready, and he couldn’t gain sufficient control of his turbulent emotions to go through with the rite safely, they had no choice. It was now clear that Nick was the son of the disgraced Rayar, Prince Alequi, and that Nick had been placed on Earth for a reason.

      She just hoped that reason would be the key to saving everyone.

      She tugged her head down and floated sideways as she peered over the side of the bridge roof. Her eyes naturally shifted to Nick, locking on him with all the ease of a targeting sensor locating its target.

      As Hena kept half her senses locked on the sea and sky, on the light and wind – on the world around her lest the Cartaxians attack – she plunged the rest of her mind into Nick Hancock. For her mind could do nothing else anymore.

      Chapter 3

      Nick Hancock

      So this was it, ha?

      It was finally time to find out who he was.

      Nick had spent a lifetime thinking he was nothing more than a broken psyche being carried around by a body.

      But that myth was crumbling. And it wasn’t just under the revelations that Jake had made. It was under the certainty building in his body like a wave of truth. A wave that would be able to crush all lies and sweep them away like the most powerful attack force in the world.

      He was seated across from Amal. Though Amal’s legs were crossed and the Centauri had a measured and calm expression, Nick was sensing this overwhelming impression of strength from the alien. It was as if Amal could find strength in peace.

      Nick shouldn’t need to tell you that he’d only ever been able to find strength in despair and chaos.

      Center your mind. Allow no distractions to infect you.

      Nick almost had to smile at that. Distractions don’t infect you – they beset you like an army assaulting your strongholds.

      To imply that distraction was an infection was to imply that distractions wanted to turn you into themselves like some invading virus.

      He didn’t point any of this out. True to Amal’s command, Nick focused his attention and let his thoughts slip away.

      But he couldn’t let them slip far. For as they shifted away, they were like sand being swept off some long-buried treasure.

      And that treasure was that memory. That damn memory of staring down at Planet Earth with his father’s hand on his shoulder.

      Yes, that was it – that weighty, reassuring hand had belonged to Nick’s dad. His real dad – Prince Alequi.

      … Even thinking of that word – Alequi – made the image stronger until it was so tangible, Nick swore it was some kind of recording that had been embedded into his consciousness – one he could carry around like a key.

      Eliminate all distractions, Amal said once more, his calm tone breaking through Nick’s growing fugue.

      Maybe that would be sensible advice under ordinary circumstances, but as Nick focused more on the weight of his father’s hand, he went with his gut instinct, instead.

      Maybe the other aliens like Kim had distrusted human intuition, but Nick appreciated it was the one force that had got him this far. So now he embraced it with both hands as he threw himself further into that memory. He allowed his consciousness to spread as he focused his mind like a laser. A laser that cut away the deck beneath him, the clear sky above. The wind, the salt-laced air that reminded him of heading to the beach.

      He even cut away the knowledge of his brother’s presence, even though it had been a singularly calming force minutes ago.

      The one thing he could not eliminate from his awareness was Hena. Even though she kept watch on top of the bridge of the cargo ship, and she wasn’t technically within sight, that didn’t matter. She was within mind. Not within reach, sure, but yet….

      You must let me in, Nick, Amal said softly, his voice drawing down low. For this rite to work, I must be able to use my emotion-sensing techniques to help you unlock yours.

      Then let me direct you, Nick said, even though he knew he should remain silent and vigilant.

      Amal paused. Though Nick’s eyes were closed, he fancied the Centauri opened his mouth to tell Nick that he was in control of the process and not the Rayar. Several seconds passed, then Nick heard Amal take a breath. Very well. I trust you. Lead me. But let me in.

      Though before that horrifying, torturous incident in Jake’s tower, Nick would have had no idea how to let somebody into his emotions – now the process was gouged into his mind.

      Even thinking about the horror of what had happened to him reopened the wound now.

      Before he could shake, Amal took a steadying breath, and for some damn reason, Nick felt as if he took one with the Centauri.

      Focus yourself. Not on how your emotions can destabilize you – but how they can lead you. Amal’s voice ticked down low and hard on the word lead.

      … Lead, ha?

      Hadn’t Nick spent a life being led around by his emotions? Hadn’t they been like chains pulling him in every direction, regardless of where he’d wanted to go?

      Before Amal could react to Nick’s growing tension, Nick pushed it away himself.

      And the reason he could push it away was he focused, not on the Centauri’s incredible control, but on Hena.

      Nick now knew what he’d once failed to appreciate – Hena had emotions. Strong and deep, some of the purest he’d ever felt. She wasn’t a robot like he’d once thought – she was the exact opposite. And yet, she still acted. For her emotions were the fuel that fed her actions, the frame through which she saw the world. And yet, that frame was not one of despair – but hope. Though he very much doubted that the Peacekeeper would refer to herself as thinking through hope, he could see it. Hena could make a difference – an almost incalculable difference. And in doing so, she gave others hope. It was all down to her ability to act, her ability to focus on what she could do.

      So right now, Nick did the same.

      He pushed away the unmistakable fear he’d felt in the presence of the apparent guardian angel. He shoved it to the side, burying it under his newfound sense of power as he threw himself completely into the image of his father’s hand.

      He could see it now, right out of the corner of his eye.

      The Prince’s hand was strong and wide, his grip firm and warm.

      If there was ever a hand that could hold back Armageddon with naught but its palm and fingers, it was Prince Alequi’s.

      Unconsciously, as Nick focused on that heat and weight, he drew Amal with him, keeping the door of his emotions open.

      Amal no longer offered advice. Instead, he simply sat there and watched alongside Nick, as if he were doing nothing more than viewing an unfolding movie.

      Trapped, he heard that word whispered behind him. It came from a low, deep, grating and memorable voice. The kind of voice that sounded like it alone could shift a mountain. Hell, it sounded like it could reshape the world.

      At first, Nick struggled. His shifting mind attempted to force him to speak, but he couldn’t feel his lips.

      Just

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