by J. N. Chaney
“I just sent them through, Captain.”
I would’ve been lying if I didn’t say I was grateful to have a bit of extra firepower on a mission like this. For that reason, and only that reason, I could admit defeat on this one. After all, it was only twenty drones out of several hundred.
With that, the transmission cut out and was replaced by the ship’s line-of-sight as twenty drones appeared out of the slip tunnel and flanked Titan.
“Let’s be on our way, then,” I muttered, standing. “No use delaying the inevitable.”
9
As Titan left the emerald storm of the slip, I studied the holo with a grim frown on my face. I stood on Titan’s bridge, as we had landed the Nebula Prospect in Titan’s loading bay to conserve fuel.
Shoulders tensed and arms crossed, all I could do was watch as the strange Celestial planet loomed before us once more. The metal planet dominated the void before us as we settled into its orbit, the megastructure brimming with danger and the unknown.
“Initializing drone scans,” said Athena. As she spoke, the twenty drones Alphonse had sent spread out, running their continuous scans of the planet. “Sigmond and I will run additional scans while they deploy.”
Now, I had to wait. Wait for results. Wait for something to move. Maybe even wait for this metal giant to spring to life and eat us. Hephaestus’ big-ass, impossible construct all over again, but worse.
The bridge was full of people. Pretty much everyone wanted to witness the megastructure once again, so I indulged them as long as they didn’t get underfoot.
Abigail and Rackham stood beside me, while Freddie and Petra sat near Dressler. Lucia stood nearby with her back against the wall, her hands on her hips as she stared at the holo. I could virtually feel the tension radiating off of her as she readied for war, but each soldier had their own way of preparing for a possible bloodbath. If silent brooding was how she wanted to handle this, I wasn’t about to get in her way.
Lucia’s soldiers kept Rackham’s men company in the cargo bay, since I wanted Bolin and his team up here to review and discuss options, should the need arise.
In the silence on the bridge, all of us itched for battle. All except maybe Freddie.
This was it—possibly our only chance to obtain vital intel that would save Earth from not one, but three pending invasions: the Union wanted basically everything and everyone on the planet for one reason or another; the Sarkonians wanted the Deadlands and would do whatever their new Union masters told them because they couldn’t see the bigger picture; and the Celestials just really liked killing anyone who wasn’t them.
As I monitored the flawless metal edifice before us, I knew what had to be done. It was that deep-down feeling, the intuitive sort of knowing that’s never wrong. Somewhere on this megastructure was the information we needed to shift this mess of a war in our favor, for once.
But getting it—now, that was going to be a feat unto itself. My crew’s safety mattered most, and even if it came at the cost of losing what we’d come here for, I wasn’t about to risk their lives for it.
“Siggy, give me something,” I said, pacing in front of the holo. “We’ve got to have results by now.”
“Inconclusive, sir,” said the Cognitive. “Thus far, the drones have yet to uncover anything substantial. They did, however, confirm that the entire framework appears to be made from the same materials as the two Celestial ships we’ve encountered.”
“So, the Celestials built this thing,” I said, with equal parts relief and apprehension. It was a guarantee, for me, that the information we needed would be on this metal planet. It also meant we were virtually guaranteed to run into more of those all-too-lovely Celestials we’d met before.
“Correct, Captain,” said Sigmond. “The drone scans have not detected any additional movement, heat signatures, or signs of life.”
“That don’t mean much,” I said with a grimace. “Siggy, keep those scans going. You find anything, even a hint of something breathing down there, you tell me quick. I don’t care what I’m doing.”
“I shall interrupt you at once should I discover anything,” promised Sigmond. “Even if you’re… preoccupied.”
“This ain’t a vacation, Siggy,” I said. “What could—” With a glance toward Abigail, I realized what the Cognitive had meant. “Cute, Siggy. Just keep the scans going.” I ended the conversation with a wave of my hand and let it go. I had enough to think about as it was.
“Yes, sir,” said Sigmond, and I could’ve sworn I heard a bit of a smile in his voice.
I shook my head at the Cognitive’s gall, but Abigail seemed to think the whole thing was hilarious. She chuckled and tilted her face away from me to hide her small smile.
“Don’t you start on me too, nun.”
“I haven’t the faintest idea what you mean,” she replied, still grinning even as she had her eyes glued to the holo.
On the other side of me, Rackham chuckled. It was a sobering sound because, in the moment, I had briefly forgotten he was even there. The man was so damn quiet, sometimes—just watching. Observing. Taking notes to bring back to the Union. It unnerved me something fierce.
Part of me wondered how much of this would get back to Vick, and worse, what the man who hated me so much would find most interesting. With Lieutenant Rackham here, I had to assume the answer was everything. It raised a concerning thought, the idea of Vick knowing the ins and outs of how I made decisions, of how my crew and I debated options before I gave the final word. I doubted Vick had that sort of camaraderie with his people, but it didn’t mean he wouldn’t find the information useful. I wondered how much of what felt commonplace to me would seem like fodder for the Vice Admiral, or if he could find a way to use it all against me somehow.
Tension built in my neck at the realization, and I shook out my shoulders to relieve it. “Abby, a word.”
Her eyes flitted to me, narrowing slightly in uncertainty as her smile faded. “What is it?”
“Just… come on.” I nodded toward the captain’s office.
“All right,” she said with a hint of reservation, no doubt trying to figure out what had me on edge.
As we left the bridge, Rackham followed. The reflective fabric along the hem of his crisp Union uniform glinted in the lights of the bridge, reminding me where his loyalties would be at the end of all this. He was on my ship, and that meant I had a duty to keep him and his men safe, but he wasn’t one of my crew. Once we landed back on Earth—if we made it out of this scrape—he would return to Vick’s ship and turn over everything he’d discovered about me and my people.
“Hold on, now,” I said, gesturing for him to stop. “As much fun as you are, Lieutenant, this party is invite-only. Wait here.”
He frowned at the order, his gaze shifting briefly between me and Abigail, but he eventually nodded. “Of course, Captain Hughes.”
As the door to the captain’s office shut behind me and Abigail, she smirked. “You just like ordering him around.”
“Well, yeah,” I said. “What’s the point of having a Union officer on board if I can’t tell him what to do?”
Her smile widened, but as she looked back at the door leading to the bridge, it quickly fell. “Jace, we’re between a rock and a hard place.”
“I know.” I sighed and set my fists on the desk, my knuckles cracking as I leaned into the surface. “That’s why we’ve got to think through every way this could go utterly and terribly wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“That thing—” I nodded in the vague direction of the holo, referring to the metal planet hovering before us. “You and I both know it’s not abandoned.”
“I didn’t think for a minute that it was,” she said with a firm shake of her head. “But, we could be pleasantly surprised. Celestial tech is highly advanced, after all. Maybe they developed a way to build automated stations.”
I huffed, not buying it. “Yeah, and maybe Lex will stop stealing my hard candies.”
Abi
gail chuckled and shook her head.
“If it were automated, it would’ve shot at us by now,” I said. “We ain’t alone out here, Abby, and it irks me that there’s no signs of life on this thing. Something that big has to have a crew, even if it’s just a skeleton crew. Nothing that size could be fully automated.”
“You’re right,” she admitted, resting one elegant finger on her cheek as her eyes briefly shifted out of focus. “Leif said it wasn’t here when they were waiting on the slip tunnel. Perhaps the Celestial scout ships chasing the Eternals to the slip tunnel signaled for this planet to come out here.”
“That’s a fine thought,” I said with a nod. “I agree, and that’s what sets me on edge. I don’t want to lead everyone into a slaughterhouse.”
“You’re saying we should go back?” asked Abigail, her eyebrows lifting in surprise.
“No,” I admitted. “As much as I want to send everyone else back, I can’t tackle this solo, and we can’t go back empty-handed. Not with Earth’s safety on the line.”
“This does certainly feel like our last chance,” Abigail said, leaning against the wall as she let out a slow breath. “I’m not one to walk away, but I’m not too prideful to admit when I’ve been backed into a corner. We have nothing else to go on. The scout ship is useless, and we don’t know enough about the Celestials. We need to better understand their physiology, their abilities, and their strategies if we want any hope of figuring out how to kill them and stop this onslaught.” She bit her lip. “It’s just a matter of time before they find Earth.”
“I don’t like it, but it’s true,” I agreed, nodding. “We need pretty much anything we can figure out about them. It took everything we had to take down the one. You, me, Siggy—everyone gave everything they had, and it still almost got away. We can’t face the fleet coming after us unless we find a better way to kill these bastards.”
“If only we could find a way to make Vick retreat, even just for the moment,” she added wistfully. “He’s not going to budge. On top of everything else, we also need proof of just how powerful these Celestials are to make him see reason.” Abigail nodded toward the bridge, where Rackham waited with the others. “The Union isn’t known for their patience, and I don’t like that their fleet is in our orbit. They’ve been after Earth for a long time, and now they’ve found it. I imagine it stings their pride to not be able to raid it for tech.”
“And Eternals,” I added, gritting my teeth in anger. “They hunted Lex to the ends of the Universe, and now there’s a whole mess of Eternals for them to chop up if they get the chance. You know every one of Leif’s people would be on a slab right now if Vick had his way.”
Abigail frowned, her eyes narrowing in disgust and loathing, and I imagined we were having the same unpleasant thought.
“If they so much as touch Lex,” Abigail said, her voice hard with hatred, “I’ll kill everyone wearing a Union uniform.”
“And you wouldn’t do it alone,” I promised. We shared a tense glance, the dread of that very-real concern settling across the room. “We’re in a bind, Abby. If we don’t prove to Vick that the threat is real, we’ll be surrounded. Vick in our orbit, Celestials in our core.”
“That would be the end of Earth,” Abigail said, voice breaking. “The end of us, too.”
I nodded, hating to admit my hands were tied on this one. “Everything rides on this mission,” I eventually said. “Everything rides on us finding something on the Celestials down there, on figuring out what we’re really up against. You know as well as I do that there’s more to this than a few scout ships and a looming threat. These things are brutal, and there’s more of them out there than we know, with tech we don’t rightly understand and a vendetta against everything that ain’t them.”
Abigail balled her hands into fists as she gestured toward the bridge. “Let’s do this. Now.”
“Soon,” I promised. “When—”
“Pardon my interruption,” said Sigmond.
“Go ahead, Siggy,” I said.
“The scans show absolutely no movement, but we have identified a possible point of entry,” said the Cognitive. “A loading bay. One of many, by my estimates.”
“Good work,” I said, stretching out my arms as I turned my attention toward Abigail. “Let’s break some noses, Abby.”
The former nun cracked her knuckles, a grim expression on her face. “I can hardly wait.”
It didn’t take long for the team to suit up and board the shuttles that would take us down to the planet. Leif would be manning one of Titan’s strike ships, while I figured it was best to take the Nebula Prospect’s detachable shuttle. The Prospect would remain in low orbit around the planet, cloaked and secure.
Though most of us brought rifles, Lucia and six of her soldiers still carried their favored weapons. Rackham cast a few confused and wary glances at her people, not quite sure what to make of the arms, but I didn’t bother explaining. Lucia and her people were hardened warriors, and I had a feeling he would see what they could do soon enough.
As much as I would have liked keeping soldiers aboard Titan, Athena insisted on moving everyone to the Nebula Prospect for safety reasons. She was a Cognitive, after all, and could man both defensive and offensive systems with ease, should the situation call for them, and having a human crew would add very little to her own capabilities. Our people could be better utilized on the Prospect.
I stood by the open bay door of one of the shuttles, scanning the loading platform as Leif and his soldiers boarded the other ship. He gave me a curt nod as the door began to close, and I returned it.
We divided into three groups, each taking a separate shuttle that would make its way to the planet. Rackham joined me on mine, along with a handful of his men. Bolin and his team took another, each of them carrying about twice as many weapons as the rest of us. I tilted my head as they boarded their ship, smirking a bit at the firepower, but I wasn’t about to tell him to tone it down. Not with what might lay ahead of us.
Seconds later, Dressler entered my shuttle with a heavy pack filled with cables and tablets. Petra and Freddie joined us a moment later. Freddie swallowed nervously as he stepped onto the ship.
I leaned toward him and grabbed his shoulder. He flinched, quickly looking at me as if he were expecting a Celestial to drop from the ceiling at any second.
“You’ve got this,” I reminded him, lifting one eyebrow briefly to emphasize my point.
He nodded, his fingers curling briefly into a fist as he stood a little straighter. “Thanks, Captain.”
“Sure, kid.” I patted his back, ushering him along.
Abigail was the last to board, and she tossed me a rifle. I caught it midair, looking it over as the shuttle doors closed behind her. “I already have my guns, Abby. What’s this for?”
“Insurance,” she said as she buckled into her seat along the wall. “I know you like your pistols, Jace, but please just take it.”
“Fine,” I muttered, throwing the strap over my shoulder as I turned to the crew standing with me in the cargo bay. “Listen up, all of you. We have one mission—get in, do the job, and get the hell out. We clear?”
“Aye, Captain,” several of them said in unison. Only Lucia and Abigail remained silent, watching me as I spoke.
“You all have neutronium bullets because that’s all we know of that can affect the enemy,” I said. “Yeah, they’re expensive as hell, but don’t skimp on using them should the need arise. They can work against Celestials, but it’s not a certain thing. We have no idea how effective the bullets will be, and I want you all to get back on this boat in one piece. You hear me?”
Everyone nodded, and I noticed a few hands grip their rifles tighter. Lucia frowned, her hand tightening around her staff as she listened.
“We have one goal today,” I repeated. “Gather intel. I want everyone’s recorders on at all times. Sigmond will log everything you see so Alphonse and the team back home can analyze it later. Dressler’s with us, to
o, and she’ll try to get into any systems we find, which means it’s up to us to keep her safe. But you all have eyes and ears, and that’s enough to gather something useful on your own. Look for anything and everything that seems even remotely valuable. Grab screens, tech, devices, whatever you spot that’s portable and won’t slow you down. We’re raiding this place of everything we can carry, and we’ll figure out what’s useful later.”
I hesitated, scanning the anxious faces before me. Freddie looked paler than usual, and several of Bolin’s men had white knuckles from gripping their rifles so tightly.
The sheer facts weren’t going to cut it, not today. I needed to add a little something to make this more of a pep talk and less like dry orders with a list of to-dos.
“In a single day, we’ve flown across the galaxy through the largest slip tunnel ever created, then found and boarded an artificial planet unlike anything to ever exist. For most, either of those two things would be a once in a lifetime event, spoken about for decades as a truly outstanding accomplishment.” I squared my shoulders, taking a deep breath. “But all of this is just another day in the life for this crew. The people of Earth accomplish miracles daily, and when I look at that planet below us, the job feels almost routine.”
“Damn right,” blurted out Abigail.
I smiled at her. “I’ll do everything in my power to make sure everyone on this ship goes home.” I glanced at Rackham. “Even you lot.”
The lieutenant chuckled.
“Siggy, take us out,” I ordered.
“Yes, Captain,” said the Cognitive.
I sat in the last empty seat next to Rackham as the Nebula Prospect roared to life.
“Nice speech,” he whispered out of the side of his mouth. “I hope you’re as good with a gun as you are with your words.” He paused. “You know, in case something goes terribly wrong and we all die.”
“Let’s just hope you don’t have to find out,” I said, leaning back in my seat.
The ship shook, vibrating with the power of its thrusters, and I took a deep breath to prepare myself for what lay ahead.