Free ZeQuest: A Space Opera Mystery Novella (The Quest Saga Science Fiction Adventure Series Book 2) by Dhayaa Anbajagane Page B

said. “We’ve got to plan this out carefully.”
    “Fine,” he fidgeted a bit, and changed the topic. “You wanna go look at the stealth carriers? A walk might do you some good.”
    “I guess,” Carlos said. “The hangar is a few miles to the south of the castle.”
    “I’m dressed to walk,” Q pointed to his jacket, which seemed really attractive now in the cold winds.
    Carlos talked to the security personnel and got them to shut down the force field. Soon they were on their way to the hangar. He could hear the sounds of chatter and metal clunking becoming louder as they neared the hangar.
    It seemed odd to him that there would be so much work going on this late at night, but then again, there was a war looming over the planet, so it was probably justified.
    Falael ran up to them just as they entered the metal fence around the hangar. The hangar was a really large flat land, with sections of metal floors and pathways in between grassy lawns with a few big workshops scattered all around.
    “Ah, Commander Carlos,” Falael nodded his head. “How may I be of service?”
    “Hello, Falael,” Carlos said. “We’re just here to look around.”
    “The technicians are working on our ship as we speak, Commander. It should be ready by tomorrow evening.”
    “Working on it?” he raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong with it?”
    “Our ship underwent a massive engine failure on its last trip, so we’re making sure nothing of the sort ever happens again.”
    “Or we could just completely avoid using that ship and use something else instead,” Q said.
    “That is very plausible, sir, but this ship has one of the best stealth systems in our fleet. Without it, the Thanonian defense guards will kill us anyway.”
    “So it’s a matter of choosing the most statistically favorable position,” Carlos said.
    “Yes, sir,” he said. “Also, the engine we’re reinstalling is our flagship model. So there’s nothing to worry about.”
    Loud alarms sounded across the hangar, and the warning flashes bathed the floor in red.
    “What’s going on?” Q asked.
    An intense burst of sound shot through the air, it’s low bassy tone making Carlos feel like his ears were being ripped apart.
    A spacecraft , he thought and looked up.
    The sky over the hangar was hazy, with dark clouds masking it, but inside all that haziness Carlos could see a shadow sift through, a shadow the size of an Olympic stadium.
    “Oh god,” he said.
    Q and Falael were looking up as well, and the center of the shadow started to glow with a green circle.
    “HIT THE DECK!” Falael yelled.
    Carlos pulled Q out of his daze and dragged him out to the fence. He looked back just in time to see a wide beam of green light from the ship hit the ground.
    And then the hangar exploded.
    Carlos dived to the ground, trying his best to put himself between Q and the blast. Searing heat ran all around him, and the sound of metal crunches and implosions filled the air. The loud, bassy sound called out once again, lasting a few seconds before dying down. He peeked out of his cover position and looked up. The ship’s green circle dimmed, and the ship disappeared back into the clouds.
    “Sir! Are you alright?” Falael knelt next to him.
    Carlos looked at Q, who was still awake, and fine.
    “Yeah, we’re okay,” he said.
    “Those scheming Thanonians,” Falael cursed.
    “How did that ship get in?” he asked. “We should have been alerted much earlier to an intruder spacecraft that large. That thing was a level-A warship.”
    “It’s got stealth,” he mumbled. “That’s the only way it could have gotten past all our defenses.”
    “That’s impossible. A stealth ship that big would be almost future-tech. It’d be nearly impossible for the Thanonians to have it with them.”
    “But the fact is they do have one, and it’s probably headed to another major city to attack.”
    “I don’t think it would be that big a threat,” Carlos pointed to the parts of