Xeno Reckoning: An Interstellar War Story (The Essence Wars Book 1)

by Paul Heingarten

  Selina pushed back at the thoughts of death and worry about the future. It had been her routine since her teen years. Her father being gone left her to look out for her mother. She regretted the move to her own place, but she also craved the independence. However, as much as the oxygen in her lungs, Selina always made time and room for her mother, in spite of the awkwardness she felt over the visits.

  Having her fill of the water ration, Laurina slumped back down. “Listen, before you go,” she said weakly, “there's something you need to have. It's from your father. I'd tried to figure out a good time to give it to you, but there never seemed to be one, and then you were away at Regulation training.”

  Laurina pushed herself up to a sitting position amid a series of groans. She pointed to the far corner of the room, where a collection of boxes leaned against the wall in a haphazard pillar. “It's in one of those. Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough. I never felt like it was the right time. In spite of the fact I still see you as my little girl, I know you're out making your way, and I'd much rather you get this than some raider if it ever came to that.”

  Selina grabbed the first box. It wobbled a bit, and her hands ran over the warped heavy cardboard texture, damaged by water and just the general decay of twenty years. The boxes contained a lot of items that weren't useful anymore: manuals and some basic electronics brought to Zormad in the hopes their components served some use, even if just a simple bartering for spare or better parts.

  The second box held a collection of cold weather gear. Zormad did have a brutal winter, so the heavy cloaks weren't completely useless, but Laurina's gaze told Selina she hadn't found the item yet.

  When the third box was uncovered, Selina knew she found it. She still had no idea what it was, but the sight of it alone told her; she even sensed something that told her she'd found it. A dark steel box, she held it up for Laurina to see. Laurina smiled a slightly sad grin, her eyes closed in a trance of memory. “Bring it here.”

  Selina piled the boxes back neat and rejoined her mother at bedside, the strange box on her lap. Selina felt the coolness of the steel, even through the fabric of her pants. Laurina slid her hands over Selina's and their eyes met. “You know, your father was one of the very first from Earth to set foot on this system. We made contact with Zormad before we landed, but they weren't interested in us just arriving here. Your father made the deal with the Mardaks that allowed us to land. There's still a lot of people who credit him with saving us. If we hadn't landed on Zormad, there's no telling how much further our life support systems would’ve taken us.”

  Laurina slid her hand along the sides of the box, and at once the box responded with a series of electronic chirps and a glowing blue emblem appeared.

  “Not long after we arrived, Zormad fell under a raid from the Railen. I was pregnant with you at the time. The Railen had come looking for supplies, energy tech, who really knows? The Mardaks warned us that the Railen made runs on Zormad from time to time. I suspect Railen saw our little group as an easy mark, strays from another world who even the Mardaks weren't too concerned with. Maybe the Mardaks figured it was better that we got hit instead for a change.

  “Your father had formed the first unit of what later became the Regulation. Anyhow, they had weapons from Earth. We'd brought enough with us for protection. We weren't the scared victims the Railen thought we were; not that first time, anyway. Humans fought the Railen off, and even managed to kill a few of them. They underestimated us and came with way less than they should have that first time.

  “This was taken from the Railen by your father; he removed it from the dead hands of one of the raiders. We later found out it was a grave insult to the Railen, taking this from them. Regardless, your father knew, like the rest of NewEarth did, unless humans made a stand and let it be known we weren't here to be picked off like lambs at a slaughter, we'd never survive anywhere.”

  With that, Laurina moved her hand in a clockwise motion over the now humming box and the lid rotated in a like manner, eventually opening and showing a glowing bluish cylinder.

  Laurina took a shuddered breath. Her eyes winced along with her voice, tinted with emotion. “I wish I could tell you more about this thing, but your father never had a chance to find out. Several days later, a bigger group of Railen appeared and targeted him while he was out with a group on an exploration of the further reaches of Zormad.”

  Selina started to reach for the device, but paused for a moment, remembering a little too well what grabbing a strange object did to her the last time. “Does anyone else know about this, Mom?”

  “Well, Zed was closest to your father, and I know the two of them talked a lot about things like this. Check with him; maybe he can help you.”

  Zed was alongside Erick during the formation of the Regulation and was there that fateful day when the Regulation faced down the Railen threat. Since then, Zed assumed leadership of the Regulation.

  Laurina's eyes were filled with wonder and a bit of sadness. She gazed at Selina though tears that lazily fell down her face. “I wish your father were here to see you now—our little girl all grown up and in charge of the world.”

  “I'm a shift worker, Mom. So far I've been in charge of getting myself assigned to a Mardak on a constant basis.”

  Laurina batted her eyes and swiped a tear away. “You're a fighter, like your father. You're stronger than you know, and one day you'll realize just who you're supposed to be.”

  Selina glanced downward. “Can you give me a hint?”

  “Only you can know that, once you find the answer. But if you really want my opinion, it doesn't matter what happens; you'll always be our little Selina.”

  Selina swallowed the lump in her throat. Laurina's words were equal parts heartwarming and also more than a little wistful. “I'll be back sooner next time, Mom.”

  “Will you?”

  Selina coughed and did her best to strain the emotion from her response. “Of course.”

  Chapter 8

  The day after, Selina began a new shift with Wexan. She kept the strange cylinder with her in case anyone, Railen or otherwise, came sniffing around for it. She slid the item into one of the inner pouches of her uniform. Before she began another day with Wexan, where they were scheduled for a pass through NewEarth, she knew she needed an answer about the device that cost her father's life.

  This mysterious object from her father's past had grown from random curiosity to major mystery in her head. Selina wasn't putting it out of her mind anytime soon, and all the better to ask one of her own than chance any strange reaction from Wexan.

  Like most areas in the precinct and NewEarth in general, Zed's office was a haphazard collection of equipment and hastily thrown together pieces of wall section cobbled from the Ark Ship remnants. A crude desk dominated the tiny office, a rare luxury only given to the upper tier of the Regulation.

  Zed gazed at Selina’s object on his desk. His palms were flat on either side of the cylinder. He eyed the item as if it were a holy relic and he feared his unclean spirit might combust if he touched it. “All this time, I thought he'd ditched it.”

  “Mom said you were there when he got it from the Railen.”

  Zed looked at Selina, but then his gaze rocketed past her into another realm. After a deep breath, he began, “We'd been on Zormad, I dunno, a week, maybe two? The Mardaks warned us about the Railen raids; said they came for anything good. It wasn't so much the Railen needed anything, they wanted to make sure everyone else had less.

  “Erick knew as well as I and the rest that do or die, we had to hold up against them. We had a supply of weapons from Earth, of course, and so it happened; they sent a squad of Railen. I guess they'd sized us up and figured a colony of refugees wasn't worth much at all. But the Railen are scavengers, see? And, even the least threats have something of value, at least in the Railen mind. They walked into NewEarth, all high and mighty. By then we had a Network of tents while more permanent residences w
ere being built. We did have the Ark Ship, which I'm sure was their initial target. We weren't as spread out yet, so it made the Railen easy to notice when they came calling.”

  As Zed continued with his story, Selina noticed his eyes lit up a bit. While the end was tragic for Selina's dad, she knew there was still a bit of pride, probably even felt by her father, over the stand that some lowly humans made in a strange Galaxy against an alien race that could've well decimated NewEarth, for all they knew at the time.

  Zed continued, “I met them first, but it wasn't long before the rest of the soldiers came front and center. The Railen at the front was dressed a little nicer than the rest. I approached, and he asked if I was the leader. You have to realize, at that point we were all alone here. The Mardaks had given us just enough space where we had a place to land and figure out what the hell we were gonna do.

  “The Railen didn't waste a lot of time; they started blowing up parts of the Ark Ship. We’d barely started unloading the thing yet. Erick saw to it we had a sentry system in place, and that was about the only thing that saved us from being wiped out. Our troops were never all in one place; they all powered up and put fire on the Railen quick.”

  It was interesting to Selina hearing Zed's description of how spartan the early version of the Regulation was. By the time Selina joined the force, their methods and tactics had been refined into a sub military operation.

  Zed continued, “People scattered, tried for any cover they could find, but there wasn't much. The Railen weapon fire was everywhere. I'd gotten turned around but fired shots back when I wasn’t looking after wounded close to me.

  “And then there was Erick, your dad. He laid down fire on the Railen like the rest of our group did, and pretty soon that little group of Railen was all but dusted. After the fight, we approached them, their bodies just flung to the ground. One of them was still clinging to life, and he had this thing in his hands. He just lay there, wounded, bleeding out bluish green blood all over the place. He eyed Erick and me hard. I’ll always remember that look in the Railen’s eyes; I can't imagine what happened that gave him that level of hate, and especially to us, who'd just appeared on Zormad a few days earlier. He started to reach for another pistol to shoot when Erick stopped him, his rifle beaded on his head. Erick told him to stand down, but either he ignored him, or more likely, didn't understand English. Anyhow, he'd attacked us, and we figured there wasn't a solution that included a peaceful discussion, so Erick sent him to the great beyond.

  “Anyway, whatever the Railen said was lost on us, but Erick kept the thing. He figured if it was that valuable to the Railen, it may come in handy, especially on the markets.”

  “Had you ever asked around? Maybe the Mardaks know what it is?”

  “We showed it to a few Mardak Sentries, but aside from wanting nothing to do with it, a few more knowledgeable folks said it's a disruptor. It deactivates weapons in the near vicinity, but no one's said anything else.”

  Zed slid the disruptor carefully back toward Selina. “Given who Erick was and what he did for us all, I never felt right keeping this. If it's anyone's, it's yours. I'd keep it outta sight, especially from your Mardak partner over there.”

  Selina nodded. She returned the disruptor to its hiding place on her uniform. “Well, that's more than I knew before. Thanks, Zed.”

  Zed smiled in reply. “Your dad and I always looked out for each other. After he died, I tried to make sure you were OK. I gotta admit I wasn't crazy about you joining the Regulation. I had half a mind to reject your application. But we need all the help we can get. Besides, once I heard you ripped it up in training, dusting your classmates, I knew you had your daddy's spirit and you belonged here.”

  Selina swelled at the mention of her father, but also bristled a little at the comparison. She knew there was no changing her origin, but she hoped Zed and everyone else realized she had her own destiny and that it wasn't necessarily Erick's.

  Selina rejoined Wexan in the NewEarth region for another leg of their shift. Her uniform had gotten a little tighter, as she included the Railen Tracker with the disruptor in another hidden location. Wexan decided he wasn’t ready for handing it over, since the situation on Zormad after their run in with the Railen and Omegan brawl hadn’t settled one bit.

  Selina took the controls of their vehicle and guided them through the regions of the colony. As their time on Zormad continued into a third decade, humans learned more about Zormad and what kind of materials were available, which brought with it a change in the look of the living quarters. NewEarth housing soon took on a semblance of places like Tas Ralong, minus the towering facilities.

  This wasn't lost on Wexan, who marveled at how Xeno scum managed to blend in with the Zormad architecture, if only slightly. “Never thought I'd see a bunch of filthy Xeno making their way here. I gave your kind a month, and look at you now,” Wexan said.

  “Don't count us out.” Selina chuckled. “Hey, how did our last energy thieves do?”

  “Oh, them? Mardak Council took care of them but good. They threw them in for some hard labor for three years, trying to make an example of 'em.”

  “Wow, didn't think Mardaks ever got that hard on crime.”

  “Things are changing, rookie. Got a new magistrate running things now, and they mean business.”

  Selina smiled. Zormad had full opportunity to slide into destruction and chaos, but since humans now called it home, that was never acceptable for Selina. At least, not until humans figured out their next move in their new Galaxy. She turned their vehicle up a straightaway alongside the gigantic hulk of the Ark Ship.

  Chapter 9

  Selina's mind had just about settled into the humdrum of the ordinary when the vehicle comm disrupted their routine moment. “Units in immediate vicinity of Region Alpha respond. Repeat: units respond to Region Alpha; group of Railen spotted approaching.”

  Selina swallowed hard as she gunned the engine. Wexan said, “Could be a group of trollers, looking for useful trash.”

  “Inside NewEarth boundaries? I don't think so.” Selina shot Wexan a worried glance. A dreadful feeling slid over her as their vehicle hurtled toward Region Alpha. She thought back to Zed’s story, and wondered if the Railen were back for the disruptor this time. NewEarth wasn't a hot bed of production, and what they had back from the previous Railen raid hadn’t improved much since—things were just more dust covered and worn out than before.

  After rounding their vehicle around the broad side of the Ark Ship, they spotted the Railen group when they were still a half mile from Region Alpha. It was hard to miss; the Railen craft’s huge wings rose a few hundred feet in the air. This collection of Railen was bigger than the one from Zed’s story; the onboard computer identified a group of at least thirty, all heavily armed.

  “This is an invasion,” Wexan muttered. “I'm notifying Mardak Militia. We can't stop 'em here, and Tas Ralong's too close. I gotta call this in to my base.”

  Selina gunned the accelerator until they arrived where the Regulation troops had gathered in a defensive position across from the Railen. She pulled over alongside a grouping of Regulation vehicles. So far the Railen had just moved troops up but hadn't attacked yet.

  Selina saw Jared making a report on the comm and headed over to him. “They hadn't said what they wanted, but they're standing in place. It's like they were ordered here by someone.”

  Selina felt the disruptor in its secret hiding place as it grew warm. And as if in sequence, she saw a group of Railen, with some kind of monitoring device ahead of them, yell and shout, pointing in her direction.

  “That can't be good,” Selina muttered.

  One Railen stepped toward the gathered Regulation forces. He tapped a control on his suit, and his helmet vanished quickly into nothing. Selina gazed deep into the Railen's gray eyes, and she really got the irony of calling any one feature on a Railen gray when their entire physical form was a study in the shade.

  “My name is Darrick Bruer, and
we want what your kind took from us.”

  Jared cleared his throat. “You've got some nerve. The Railen steal whatever they want, from NewEarth and elsewhere.”

  Darrick's gaze shot to Jared, his eyes smoldered in response. Then he said, “Xeno scum, one day you'll all learn your place here, and it's not for you to decide what I need to explain.”

  “Start over, Railen trash.” Jared shook his head.

  Darrick took a steadied breath. His fingers gnashed together as his hands formed fists. Whoever this guy was, Selina thought, he sure wasn't a chief diplomat.

  “It's very simple. One of your kind has a disruptor and it doesn't belong with you. We're here to take it back, even if we have to level your little settlement here to do it.”

  “Stand down and we'll talk.” Jared's reply came through his gnashed teeth.

  “Xeno, hear me well.” Darrick pointed a finger to Selina. “ We've confirmed a signature on her of the device we want. Give it, or her, to us, and we'll leave without further trouble.”

  Jared glanced slightly to Selina but quickly eyed Darrick again. “We don't negotiate with hostiles.”

  Selina felt her gut tense. She slid one hand over the disruptor’s location on her suit, still hidden from plain sight. She'd never seen it in action, and wasn't about to pull a quick draw. The other Railen behind Darrick drew their weapons and, in a coordinated series of howls, trained them on Selina. The collective whine of activate pulse rifles filled the air, in a chorus of danger.

  “Xeno, you really think we're the kind that looks the other way or just forgets a slight like theft? Your time in Ling Galaxy is sure to be full of painful lessons, I foresee.”

  Wexan grabbed for Selina and shoved her behind him. “This ain't a firing squad. Zormad's got a system, at least part of one. Only way we'll ever get peace here is through order. We aren't letting anyone blast someone else away just 'cause they suspect something.”