Free Pull (Deep Darkness Book 1) by Stephen Landry Page B

k... Eek, Pok, Drok,” Aira asked. She was laying in
my arms. Night had fallen; we couldn’t continue our search for Hayden until
morning, especially with that creature out there tearing up the city. “I don’t
wonder I know, when the first colonists set down and encountered aliens they
tried to communicate with them... some of the time it was a success – other
times it took years. The only syllable we could ever fluently make out was the
‘k’ sound at the end.” She didn’t say anything after that. I think she might
have been trying to make me laugh. It did seem kind of funny but scientists
never really good at naming things.
    The Aelita was meant to arrive that night but with everything going on it
would probably be two days before they came after the Tritan. I knew
enough about how they approached situations like this, they would be
cautious, they would watch their enemy and make sure that there were no
Skrav coming to hinder any rescue. They were only a few hours behind each
other in the immer but time works differently once they exit and switch to
regular star drives and ion engines. Feeding off radiation and space debris
turning molecules into energy... that was the trick to regular space travel. The
cost of regular space travel meant that days in real time could be months or
years depending on velocity. Time dilation. What would come with the Aelita
though... another leviathan, another space beast... or something worse?
    “We will be lucky if the Aelita and Erebus get here at all...” Aira said.
She was falling asleep as I brushed her hair. “They will come especially the
Aelita. Your father is on that ship.” I didn’t realize how much of a mistake
that was to say. I didn’t think about Aira’s mother. Aira had left her and their
position at the space dock to come and find me. She would be dead or among
the missing now. She might even be searching for her daughter. Worst she
might have used this as an escape. Maybe she went and joined the runners
and deserters hiding underground. Aira cried herself to sleep. Nothing I
could have said would have made any difference anyway.
    For the next few hours I sat awake in the dark. All I could think about
was my own mother telling me to “run”. Her last words, her last lesson in life
to teach me. I never really said her name aloud before, it was Faith. It was a
kind name and fitting for someone like her. She put her faith in Aira and I to
survive. Her death would be her legacy now. I could see someone in a
hundred years watching through the nexus. Two scared little brats crying
while this middle-aged woman who had given so much to the fleet screamed
at them to run. Even in her last dying breath she was giving us a chance and
teaching us how to survive.
    The last thing I thought about before falling asleep was how I had never
really had a father. He had died giving his life so that others may live just as
my mother had. Even if I was her only child I believe that I was something
she was proud of. Even if I wasn’t going to be a user, even if I just went into
stasis and accomplished nothing with my life I was hers and I would always
be. Aira was blessed she still had one parent around... and he was coming for
her. That’s what parents do... they look out for their children, they protect
them and watch over them even in the darkest of times.
    The monitor was silent.
I began looking for answers in my mind, unaware he was no longer
listening. Did it mean he was dead? I don’t think monitors sleep... and if they
    did it wouldn’t be very long. Maybe they slept one head at a time shutting
down certain body parts at will. It was something I had heard some species
could do. That wasn’t it though. There was nothing on the other end of the
comm – just silence. When we were running through alleyways and dodging
guards and looters earlier we could still hear his breathing through our
headpieces even when he wasn’t