Shifting Cargo (A Shift in Space Book 1) Read online

  Shifting Cargo

  Danielle Forrest

  The Eternal Scribe Publishing

  Copyright © 2021 by Danielle Forrest

  Shifting Cargo

  Danielle Forrest

  The Eternal Scribe Publishing

  www.theeternalscribe.com

  [email protected]

  Cover Design: Danielle Forrest

  Interior Design: Vellum

  Printing: IngramSpark

  First Edition

  Paperback ISBN: 978-1-950795-10-9

  Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-950795-11-6

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2021910697

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. All elements in this novel are fictitious and not intended to reflect or mimic real-life. Any parallels are strictly coincidental.

  Contents

  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

  Epilogue

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  About the Author

  Also by Danielle Forrest

  Mila’s Shift - Excerpt

  Chapter One

  Zee ducked behind cover, an explosion blowing past him, his ears ringing in the aftermath. Covered in anonymizing dust, his compatriot turned to him, giving him a quick nod as he pulled his weapon to his body, ready for another round. Zee nodded back, checking the power cell on the rifle. Twenty-five percent charge. This battle needed to end. Fast.

  With synchronized movement, they escaped cover and fired, the noise deafening, and the dust and debris in the air blinding. He didn’t think. He just reacted. If he fell today, it wouldn’t be the first time. It wouldn’t be the last either. If it saved his people, saved his men, it was worth it.

  Ahead, a man dressed in black, like him, grunted and fell. Zee clenched his jaw, resisting the urge to go to him, to help him. Needless sentimentality. He would be fine. Zee returned fire, the kick from the rifle jamming into his shoulder with each round. Each time he fired, he advanced. In his peripheral vision, more of his men, his unit, advanced with him.

  But with each moment the fight dragged on, more and more of his men fell. Smoke burned his eyes, assaulted his nostrils, and a shot came out of nowhere, nearly spinning him around as it struck his shoulder. He grunted, taking a shaky breath as he tried to breathe through the pain, before lifting his rifle back to his good shoulder and firing.

  “Hacht,” his captain cursed over the comms.

  “Captain?”

  “Surrounded.”

  Zee blinked, trying to clear his eyes, which blurred and watered from the smoke. He whirled around, his gun at the ready, but a dense fog surrounded him, dropping visibility to zero. He moved into formation, back to back with the soldier closest to him.

  Then someone shouted. Instinct took over. He jumped to the side as the explosive detonated.

  Everything went dark.

  Chapter Two

  “What do you mean you can’t find it?” Ellie said, fists on hips as she stomped her foot, glaring at the metal interior walls of her cargo ship. She stood in the narrow hallway that connected every room in the ship. It was plain and unimaginative, broken up only by the utilitarian doors throughout.

  “It’s a big ship,” Angus the AI said, his distinctive Scottish brogue reminding her how much she wanted to hurt Cass for programming him that way. She often had trouble with accents, but while Cass loved her favorite actor’s deep voice, Ellie needed the subtitles on his movies.

  Rubbing her brow, she sighed. “Well, the hole can’t be that big, or it would be easier to find. Why isn’t the ship repairing itself?” Her friend, Victoria, had designed the ship, using a metal composite she’d invented that could seal small holes automatically, much like an artery could do with thin cuts.

  “Not too big, not too small,” the AI philosophized.

  Ellie narrowed her eyes, the spot on her temple pulsing as she tried to decide the best, most reasoned approach for dealing with the problem. “That’s your fucking answer?!” she settled on, throwing her hands up in the air.

  Angus didn’t speak as she ground her teeth together, wishing she knew enough about computer programming to fix him. But Cass still maintained complete access to the ship’s computer systems, and that meant she had zero control over Angus. She couldn’t even change the accent so she could understand half of what he said.

  “I have an idea,” Angus said after a long pause.

  “And?”

  “I could seal each room and shut off ventilation. The room with the breach will drop in pressure, which I can measure once it drops within my quantifiable range.”

  “And how long will that take?”

  “I cannot say. That’ll depend on the size of the breach.”

  “Bloody bastard,” she grumbled under her breath.

  “I heard that.”

  Ellie gave him the stink eye.

  “Cass is calling. You can accept her call in the cockpit.”

  Ellie let out a sigh, glaring at the walls as she stomped off, wishing she had an outlet for her anger. “Answer,” she said as she entered the cockpit.

  Cass sat in an identical room, feet kicked up on the console, arms crossed. She gave Ellie a dirty look. “I see you’re wearing your ‘costume’ again.”

  Ellie looked down, knowing Cass didn’t mean her clothes. Ellie was a shape-shifter, and she could change her appearance at will. When meeting with clients, she often took on the persona of a leggy redhead with tan skin. She waved her friend off, not wanting to get into the body image issues Cass insisted she had, even if she might be right.

  In the background, Cass’s sister, Jessie, waved at her.

  “Looking good, Jessie,” Ellie trilled out with a smile. Jessie tended to be self-conscious about her appearance, something Ellie related to, so she always tried to say something nice when they spoke.

  “Don’t change the subject,” Cass said, waving her finger.

  Ellie shook her head, sitting down at the controls, where a vent was blasting her with cool air, sending chills down her spine. “Well, you never change.”

  Cass scoffed. “And what do you have to be surly about?”

  “Your AI.” Ellie crossed her arms, glaring at her friend. The console before her blinked erratically as the chaotic swirl of sub-space created an abstract painting around the comm window.

  “Hey!” Angus said, offended by her comment.

  “Shut it, Angus,” Ellie said. She pointed at the ceiling where his speaker resided as the HVAC cyc
led off, leaving her with only the gentle hum of the engines and the fans that pushed fresh air through the ship.

  He huffed, but didn’t speak again.

  Cass leaned forward. “Well, no wonder you have problems with him. Don’t you know how to handle a man? They have fragile egos.”

  “Well, his ‘fragile ego’ can’t find a fucking hole in my ship.”

  “Well, maybe we need to get Vic on the line. She designed the ship. A man’s only as good as his equipment, after all.”

  “Cass, when was the last time you had sex? You only get like this when you’re horny.”

  “Well, you try getting some when you’ve got a teenage sister hanging around.”

  “Excuses. Excuses.” Ellie rolled her eyes, trying to hide the smile teasing the edges of her lips.

  Cass laughed. “Like you do any better.”

  Ellie scoffed. “Cass, my mood is not dependent on how many guys I sleep with.”

  “Yeah, that’s because you’re practically a nun.”

  “No, Vic is practically a nun.”

  “True. Then again, I would be too with those parents. Wanna bet she’s a virgin?”

  “Oh, I would never take that bet.” Ellie paused. “Listen, is there a reason you called?”

  Cass shook her head. “Just checking in with my best gal.”

  “Well, I actually have shit to do, so let me cut out before I suffocate.”

  “All right. Catch you soon.”

  “Bye.” Ellie reached forward and cut off the transmission. “Okay, Angus. What do I need to do?”

  “Stay there. The cockpit has supplementary breathing apparati just in case.”

  “In case of what?”

  Angus paused.

  Sometimes, Ellie could swear he was an actual person, complete with hang-ups and neuroses.

  “In case small changes in localized oxygen concentrations fall below ideal limits.”

  “How small?” Ellie tapped her foot, reminding him she didn’t like prevarications.

  “I am unable to calculate at this time.”

  “So it could be huge?”

  “I cannot say.”

  She shook her head. “Fine. Just do it.”

  The door slammed shut as the gentle sound of moving air ceased.

  Now to wait.

  Zee groaned as he sat up from the ground. He held his head, hoping the pounding pain would stop. When he opened his eyes, the light pierced his brain, though whether the head injury or simple biology caused it, he had no idea. His kind didn’t do well in bright light. Between their dark complexions and night-adapted eyes, they spent their lives in darkness.

  His ears still rang from the deafening sounds of the battlefield, making him feel coccooned, muffled. The acrid smell of smoke further isolated him, preventing him from making any meaningful observations on his surroundings. Only the soil beneath his palms grounded him. It was loose and dry over a hard bed. As he shifted, his fingers sent small rocks skittering, but he couldn’t hear them as they moved.

  After a few more moments, the light did less damage, and he could see. Not that it helped. All he saw was the destruction left in the wake of the battle. A crater stretched off to his left, and smoking debris littered the area. He stood, his body feeling shaky as he settled on all fours, then gradually pushed to his feet. He started moving, searching for survivors. In some places, he found bodies, those of his enemies and his unit, but the numbers didn’t add up. Someone else must have survived.

  But who? And how many?

  His brain felt fried, unequal to the task as he shuffled forward, trying to make sense of the devastation around him. Nothing moved except the smoke drifting on wind currents, creating patterns around him. He passed body after body, but most were badly burned, ripped to pieces. He couldn’t make sense of it. How many were there? How many dead? Which were Ateles, and which weren’t?

  For a moment, he wished he were a scientist, not a soldier. Or maybe a doctor. Surely, one of those could make sense of the macabre display around him. But he was a soldier, trained to break bodies, not identify them. Usually, he was off the ground long before the dust settled.

  He shook his head. It didn’t matter. Though it twisted his insides to leave his fallen compatriots here without proper attendance, he knew the military would take care of this. For now, the only things that mattered were finding the surviving members of his unit and completing the mission.

  Ellie yawned, her chin resting on her palm as she waited for news from Angus.

  How long could it possibly take to find a fucking leak?

  “Breach located,” Angus said, his voice cheery but nearly unintelligible. How was it she could understand multiple alien languages, and yet one Scot defeated her?

  She sat up. “Finally. Where is it?” She’d been staring at the same trippy view of space for hours now, her mind turning to mush.

  “Guest room 2.”

  “And?” Ellie said, tilting her head to the side as she tried to control her ire.

  Angus didn’t answer.

  “Angus?”

  “Yes?”

  “What next?”

  “The breach will need to be located and repaired.”

  Ellie slapped her forehead, her skin stinging with the impact. She sighed. “I thought you just located it!”

  He cleared his non-existent throat. “I narrowed it down to Guest Room 2. It will still require careful examination to locate the specific leak and we’ll require atmosphere to repair.”

  “Atmosphere?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh, right. The plasma torch only burns in atmosphere.” Ellie also didn’t like using it indoors because she was afraid of plasma gasification, which could create toxic carbon monoxide as a byproduct, among other things. “Is there a place to land nearby?”

  “I’ll perform a search and isolate Guest Room 2 in the meantime, which should minimize oxygen loss.”

  “Thank you.”

  Chapter Three

  “Ellie.”

  Ellie jerked awake. “Damn it, Angus. How many times have I told you that’s creepy as hell? You sound like you’re gonna kill me in my sleep.” With sheets bunched at her waist, she sighed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “What is it?”

  “I located a suitable site, and we will be coming out of sub-space momentarily.”

  Ellie jumped to her feet, tangling in the sheets. “Gah!” With a thump, she disentangled herself and stomped to the door. “Who said you could pilot us to the site? I only asked you to find one.”

  “The order was inferred by the request to find an appropriate landing site.”

  With another sigh, she left her room and walked the short distance to the cockpit, the metal composite floors cold beneath her bare feet. In moments, she sat down at the console. “Wow.”

  In sub-space, it was hard to tell what she was looking at. A bloated, but almost ethereal constellation of browns, blues, and greens drifted before her. She supposed it must be the planet Angus found, but it sure didn’t look like it now.

  Instead, the matter of the planet was composed mostly of gases and small rocks, the lower strength gravity of sub-space unable to keep the materials packed together and solid. It was beautiful, like a nebula, which had always been her favorite sights of outer space growing up. She could stare at them for hours.

  “Exiting sub-space,” Angus warned, and Ellie gripped her chair, though the transition was practically seamless.

  Seamless, but disorienting. She couldn’t believe people used to pilot sub-space manually. It just seemed impossible to her. Space distorted, then seemed to snap in place, all the matter of the planet sucking into itself until a solid body formed before her, a relatively small planet with the same browns, blues, and greens.

  “Estimated arrival at current speeds is five minutes.”

  “And the planet?”

  “Gravity slightly stronger than Earth, with lower carbon dioxide and oxygen concentrations. I’ve plotted a course that wil
l deliver us to a territory with moderate temperature. Shall I land?”

  “No, Angus. I’ve got it.”

  She took over the controls. It felt slow as they traveled to the planet, a planet that looked so much like Earth, but in truth the odometer read 17,500 mph. Time trickled by, then the screen lit up red from the burn of entry. Friction increased, and Ellie gripped harder on the controls, keeping the ship just where she wanted it.

  She loved this part. It felt like riding a bucking bronco, trying to maintain control when the control wasn’t really yours. A smile crossed her face as clouds whipped past.

  Zee walked, head down. Earlier, he’d found signs of life, tracks, but while he’d been able to follow them, he’d seen nothing but vegetation for hours, not even a body of water. Nor had he heard anything on his comms, not since waking. He pressed the status check button once again, hoping for a ping back or, hacht, to actually hear someone else’s voice, but nothing happened. The status check was a quick way to coordinate behind enemy lines, when talking could give away your position. There was no reason not to answer.

  Why aren’t they answering?

  The environment started to blur together around him. He’d long ago entered a forested area with low brush and tall, white-barked trees. His dark skin and armor created a sharp contrast even in the shadows beneath the canopy far overhead, while small animals rustled in the underbrush unseen. There was no hiding or stealth for him in this environment.