Hostile Genus: An Epic Military Sci-Fi Series (Invasive Species Book 2)

leave immediately. Ratt, on the other hand, argued strongly for sleeping until the next morning. Maya was eager to reach Xibalba, but Ratt countered with the fact that although Jon could see the gold column of light in the distance, he had no way of gauging the actual distance to the light.
“There isn’t much point in flying through the night only to have to land somewhere in the morning in order to get some rest. And, if we are over the ocean, we can’t land and rest. I would say let’s take shifts, but I’m the only one here really capable of handling this bad boy.” Nobody could refute that with any reasonable argument, and so it had been decided that they would depart in the morning.
The decision had sparked a new idea in Maya. Once they had finished packing and taking inventory, she went to Wyntr and asked the child to show her the golden pillar as well. The girl had happily agreed. Maya easily shaped a Strange that allowed the child not only to take Maya on the same trip as Jon, “seeing” in her mind’s eye the location of the Morning Star and its environs, but also to share the girl's story—memories of the child’s home, her people, and her long, arduous journey to Home. The goddess had gone to sleep that night deeply satisfied with the way things had developed so far. She shared with her company her thoughts and feelings of the fulfillment of their destinies and the rightness of their course.
The morning had brought with it clear skies and goodbyes.
Jon had joined Maya in saying farewell to Miller, Wyntr, and the rest of the inner circle, promising to return within a week at most. Wyntr, not wanting to be left behind by her savior, cried and clung to Maya’s legs.
Lucy had read on their faces their desire to concede to the child’s wishes. “This quest is going to be very dangerous, and is not safe for children,” she insisted.
“Feroz Pantera, we are heading right to her home. Why can we not return her to her people along the way?” Maya implored. The little girl had looked up at her and smiled hopefully, her brown eyes welling with tears.
“My lady, would it not be better to return her to her people after the Anvil’s been recovered and our foes defeated? To take her away from the safety of Home would not only endanger her, but would harm the entire party, as we would have to care for and protect her at all times.” Lucy’s deathly floral-painted face and eyes were stony, ignoring the heartbreaking look from Wyntr.
Jon had watched the scene unfold and came to Maya and the child, putting his hands on their shoulders to comfort them.
Maya had acquiesced, despite appearing as if a protest might burst from her lips at any moment. Nodding, she knelt down to the girl and hugged her closely, whispering in her ear. Another small tear had trickled its way down the girl’s cheek, but she smiled and said, “Okay!”, returning Maya’s hug. Jon had seen this trick from Maya before and wondered just what the goddess had again told this troubled girl.
After a few more preparations, the five of them—Maya, Lucy, Ratt, Carbine, and Jon— had boarded the loaded transport and taken off into the azure skies in search of their salvation—and that of the world.
“Jon? Earth to Jon!”
“Huh? What?” Jon snapped out of his daydream and turned again to face Ratt in the cockpit.
“I didn’t think you’d want to miss this.” Ratt gestured at the viewport and what lay beyond.
Stepping deeper into the cockpit and leaning on Ratt’s chair, Jon bent forward. His lips parted as silent awe overtook him. There, just beyond what seemed like an arm's reach, was the end of the land and the beginning of the sea. No picture he had ever seen during his upbringing in Home could hold a flame to the real thing. Only the vision Maya had given him came close. It was majestic, vast, seemingly endless, and mysterious. The blue hue of its waters reminded him of liquid sapphires and secret poetry. He watched the solid land disappear beneath them and stared, childlike, out over the ocean that stretched into forever.
“Wow,” Jon said softly. “We’re really making good time.”
“Sure are. Whaddaya think? About time for another course correction check?”
“Yeah,” Jon agreed. “Good idea.”
Three times already since leaving, he had tried the meditation to check their course. All he had to do was close his eyes and recall the great green-covered hill, and then open his eyes and look. Every time, without fail, it was there: a shaft of golden light, reaching from the vanishing point of the curve of the planet to the heavens above.
This time, as with the last, the pillar of light was there, now slightly to their right: west, as Jon correctly guessed.
“That way, just a little bit.” Jon pointed, and Ratt adjusted their flight path accordingly.
“There, right there.” Jon gave Ratt a thumbs-up and went back to admiring the view.
They spent a silent hour that way, flying above the blue sea, straight toward the golden light. He was just about to take a break from the view and see how Maya was doing, when all hell broke loose.

2
Faster than anyone could react, the world around Jon and his friends literally unraveled.
A bright flash of brilliant amethyst light filled the viewport for a split second, causing Jon to squint and shield his eyes. Before he could mutter the words, “What in the…?” a second flash occurred. It vanished as abruptly as it had appeared and, in its place, hovering in the sky as if it were a thing in itself, placed by the hand of the Creator, and not simply an absence of thingness, was a tear in space. A growing, yawning portal outlined by a spasmodic perimeter of black and white cubes in various sizes, all flashing and expanding.
A buzzing sound,