The Battle of the Void (The Ember War Saga Book 6) Read Free Page B

need is here, and since the Breitenfeld is our only other ship with a jump engine…off we go.” Stacey stepped away from the podium.
    “You called it a vault,” Kallen said. “How’re we going to get into this thing if it was built by someone more advanced than the Xaros?”
    “We have a…technical expert,” Valdar turned his head to the still man, “on loan to us from the Qa’Resh.”
    Anxiety squeezed Yarrow’s chest as the puzzle pieces fell into place. He reached for an absent sidearm and started to get up. A heavy hand pressed against his shoulder and Hale leaned over.
    “It’s alright, Yarrow. We’re safe from it,” Hale whispered.
    Yarrow’s memories of Anthalas were hazy, but he still had nightmares of the moment the sphere of omnium hidden deep beneath an ancient pyramid invaded his body and took it over.
    “No! Sir, we can’t trust—” Yarrow struggled against Hale’s grasp until Cortaro grabbed Yarrow’s arm with a vice grip.
    “Stand down,” Cortaro said, using the command tone all Marine leaders could call on when the time to follow orders without hesitation was required. Yarrow’s hands balled into fists, his breathing quick and shallow as the still man got to his feet.
    “You may call me Malal.” The words came without his mouth moving. “This is my vault. I will be your guide. Some of you know me…” He looked to Hale and his Marines.
    “I take back what I said about Stacey. Now we’re really good and fucked,” Bailey said.
    “You have nothing to fear from me,” Malal said. “This one,” he pointed at Stacey, “has me on a short leash, as you say. Just follow my lead. Things will be fine.” His face pulled into a too wide smile, revealing pointed teeth.
    “If you’ll excuse us,” Valdar said to Stacey. She and Malal left the room. Angry questions rose from the audience and Valdar raised his hands to ask for calm.
    “I know,” Valdar said. “I’ve had to ask a lot of you since this war started. Transporting an ancient entity is not what I thought the next phase of the war would be, but here we are. Stacey and Marc Ibarra assure me that the entity calling itself Malal is contained and harmless. Don’t ask me to explane the tech, but it can’t manifest any of the abilities we observed on Anthalas. If it steps out of line, Ensign Ibarra has the means to destroy it.”
    “That make you feel any better?” Standish asked Yarrow.
    “No,” Yarrow said.
    “Stow it, both of you,” Cortaro growled.
    “This vault is far behind Xaros lines,” Durand said. “Wouldn’t the Xaros have found it and destroyed it by now?”
    “The Xaros typically preserve any technology from extinct civilizations, but Malal and the Qa’Resh believe the Xaros haven’t discovered the vault. Malal claims it is well hidden and the chances that the Xaros stumbled upon it in deep space are very low,” Valdar said.
    “Hey, we’re in for a cakewalk,” Egan whispered.
    Orozco reached over and punched Egan in the thigh.
     

CHAPTER 2
     
    Admiral Makarov stood on the open ramp of a Mule transport, her boots clamped to the deck and one hand mag-locked to a strut. Readouts flashed against her helm’s visor as she looked through the void of space to the cruiser passing a few dozen yards beneath her feet. As commander of the Eighth Fleet, there was never enough time. Not enough time to address every maintenance issue, correct mistakes to operation orders, lead simulation exercises and a whole litany of problems that came up as the head of a military organization of tens of thousands of sailors and dozens of ships.
    Her solution to the time crunch was to combine events whenever possible, which was why her senior staff officers were crammed into the Mule while she inspected the refit on the Macta .
    Calum, her harried and overworked executive officer, stood just behind her, an Ubi slate in one hand.
    “The next batch of shipboard security augmentees will arrive in…eight hours, ma’am,”