by J. N. Chaney
10
As our shuttle soared toward the metal planet, leaving the Nebula Prospect behind, I couldn’t help but stiffen at the possibility of what we might be walking into.
Still, it gave me a modicum of comfort to know Titan would be in orbit, at a safe distance and ready to attack should the need arise. We would have cover going to and from the planet, but we would be on our own once we landed. After all, I didn’t rightly want Athena firing Titan’s massive guns at our feet.
“This is quite exciting,” Lieutenant Rackham said, adjusting in his seat as we barreled toward the megastructure. He scanned the inside of the shuttle, and I could barely tell if he was talking to me or to himself. The way he spoke, he could just as easily have been talking about picking out what shirt he was going to wear today.
“You do a good job of hiding it,” I admitted.
“Is this what your life is like?” asked Rackham, apparently missing my sarcasm.
I chuckled. “I can’t say that I race off to metal planets every day, no.”
“Not that,” Rackham said, waving away the thought with his hand. “I’ve been to most of the known galaxy, Captain Hughes. I’ve been under the direction of captains who knew what they were doing and many more who didn’t. I can tell when a man is out of his depth, and you—well, Captain, you certainly aren’t.”
“Well, ain’t that a pretty thing to say.”
“You can joke all you want, Hughes,” Rackham said. “You may not have seen anything exactly like this before, but it’s not too far out of the familiar for you, either.”
“My life has certainly gotten far more interesting in recent months,” I admitted. “So, sure, I’ll give you that.”
“You and I both know this is more than some interesting new development,” he said with a sidelong glance toward me. “I’ve read the reports on you and your crew,” he added, his tone changing slightly as he quickly scanned the faces around us.
“Have you, now?” Even though I kept my tone light, I narrowed my eyes with suspicion, not liking where this was headed.
Rackham gave me a curt nod. “You’re a Renegade who kept to the Deadlands, defying the Union every chance you got. Illegal cloak, dealings with raiders—Captain, you’ve never been a man to take orders or abide by a law you didn’t agree with. You cut through Sarkonian territory, carving a path through the void and outwitting anyone who got in your way.” Rackham paused, watching me as he spoke. “Even Brigham,” he added, clearly impressed, even as he tried to hide it.
I waited, my expression hard and set as I let Rackham talk. The man was walking a thin line with me—one I didn’t think he wanted to cross. This conversation was starting to go south, and it was beginning to sound like there was a threat to my crew buried between his words.
The gods help the fool if he tried.
“You got a point, Lieutenant?” I asked, a hard edge to my voice.
He scanned my face, appearing to choose his next words carefully, which meant he was a smart man. He knew I wasn’t in the mood for games.
“I’ll be honest, Captain,” Rackham said, leaning in and lowering his voice. “I suppose I envy you, if only a little.”
I leaned back a bit out of surprise, not entirely sure what the hell to say to that. It wasn’t something I expected to hear out of a Union grunt, much less one of Vick’s cronies.
“I’ll deny it if you tell a soul, of course,” Rackham said with a smirk, looking away for a moment. “But this is why I joined the fleet. The thrill of discovery. The allure of the unknown. I’ve never had the pleasure of exploring something so… alien.” A bit of excitement finally cracked through the hardened shell he wore by default, and he grinned at the thought.
“Careful, Rackham,” I said, a tad bewildered at the sudden change in the Union officer sitting next to me. “You’re starting to sound like a Renegade.”
The man laughed, but to my surprise, didn’t deny it. “I’ll confess, Captain, this is perhaps the most exhilarating mission I’ve ever been given. To be on a ship barreling toward a foreign megastructure filled with mystery and the unfamiliar—well, it feels like something out of a story from my childhood.”
“How so?” I studied the officer’s face, not entirely sure what I was seeing. Perhaps being dumbstruck by the magnitude of what lay before us made him share these things—with me, of all people—or maybe he was conning me, trying to play the situation and wriggle his way into my good graces so he could screw me later. I couldn’t quite tell, but I had to admit the glint of excitement in his eyes looked very real.
Rackham opened his mouth to elaborate, but he never got the chance.
“Captain,” said Sigmond over the speaker in the shuttle. “We’re entering the loading bay.”
“Good work, Siggy. Dressler,” I added with a nod to the doctor.
She returned it and stowed a tablet back into her bag.
The ship slowed, the sudden shift in speed throwing us forward in our seats. My chest pushed against the harness, and I gritted my teeth at the abrupt force pulling on my body.
“Smooth landing, Siggy,” I grunted.
“My apologies, sir,” said the Cognitive. “Stabilizing the ship now.”
As quickly as the force had hit us, it was over. I let out a quick break as the ship landed.
“Helmets on,” I instructed to the soldiers around me, slipping on my own helmet and unbuckling my harness. The flow of recycled oxygen in my suit rushed over my face, and I took a deep breath to steady myself for what we might find out there. I stood and grabbed my rifle as my crew followed suit, preparing to unload. “Remember—get in. Get intel. Get out. Nothing in here is worth dying over, you hear?”
“Aye, Captain,” my crew said in unison.
A red light along the wall flashed in warning as the cargo bay door prepared to open. I stood at the front of the line, shoulders squared as my crew filled in behind me.
Abigail appeared at my side, and we lifted our rifles in unison as the doors slowly opened.
11
We stepped off the shuttle and my finger hovered over my rifle’s trigger as I scoped the world before me scanning for threats.
We stood in a cavernous loading bay suspiciously devoid of any other ships but ours. Long narrow structures jutted out over a deep pit, suggesting this was where the Celestials docked their ships, though I saw none at the moment.
As my crew fanned out around me, the Titan shuttle carrying Leif and his people landed nearby. The bay door began to open before it even fully hit the ground, and a flood of Eternal soldiers jumped the short distance to the floor.
I had to admit, I was impressed with their courage and eagerness to take down the Celestials, given all they had faced. I wouldn’t have begrudged them staying on Earth and letting us do the heavy lifting on this mission, yet here they were. Stubborn, resilient, and hard-headed—these were definitely my kind of people.
Most of the walls around us were sleek and flawless, with nothing in the way of doors or entry points. Only one wall of glass stood out from the otherwise solid metal, and was sectioned into windows that curved at the far end of the hangar. From this angle, I couldn’t see much in the way of an interior, but I figured it had to be a command center of some sort.
“We’ll start looking for intel up there,” I said into the group link, angling my rifle toward the windows. “Before we do, establish a perimeter. No one wander off.”
My crew dispersed instantly, fanning across the hangar at the command, their rifles scanning every inch of the loading bay as I hovered near the Nebula Prospect. I took the chance to scope the rest of the loading bay, looking for any high ground that might give an enemy sniper the advantage. So far, nothing—lucky for us. Out in the loading bay, with no cover to speak of, we were easy targets.
From the corner of my eye, I noticed Rackham kneel beside one of his men. Together, they set up a small tripod, no more than a meter tall. At the top was a small silver device with a touch-screen. The othe
r soldier went to work as Rackham fiddled with the base, securing each leg to the ground.
“New toy?” I asked with a nod toward the device.
“Very new,” Rackham answered. “It’s a piece of Union tech fresh out of R&D, used to detect movement within one hundred meters.”
“How fancy,” I said, not bothering to hide my sarcasm. “You realize—”
“We know the Celestials can mask their heat signatures and cloak themselves, of course,” Rackham added, not pausing long enough to let me finish my thought. “This sensor accommodates for that. It can detect sound as well, so its highly sensitive microphones should be able to pick up even distant movement. Our tests indicate a range of between one hundred and twenty-five hundred meters.” The military man smirked. “See, Captain? There are perks to working for the Union.”
“You ain’t going to convert me with a shiny toy, Rackham,” I laughed.
“Can’t say I didn’t try,” Rackham answered with a grin.
“Is that thing going to get a false positive from us moving around?” I asked.
He shook his head. “It’s adjusted for our suits and will track our movements as long as we’re in range. That should filter out our movement and account for our presence.”
“Nice,” I admitted, swallowing my pride long enough to allow them to finish setting it up. “Even though we haven’t seen any Celestials yet, doesn’t mean we won’t. It’s a good precaution to take.”
“Agreed, Captain.” Rackham gestured toward the device, all business once more. “We’ll have someone monitoring this at all times, so unfortunately that means I’ll need some of your soldiers to remain here with my crewman.”
“Granted,” I said, making a point to pretend he had asked instead of going about demanding things of me. “Lucia, I want you and your soldiers standing by to protect the ships, anyway. Make sure Lieutenant Rackham’s man doesn’t die, will you?”
“You get to have all the fun,” she complained through the comm link. I couldn’t see her from this vantage, and I figured she had gone into one of the many alcoves along the wall to make sure it was clear.
“Aye, Captain,” I said, mocking her with a wry smirk. “You know that’s how we say yes around these parts, right? Have you not picked that up yet?”
“Don’t get cute with me, boy.” Her tone was dry, but I thought I detected a hint of fondness too. “Help me clear this section. Or do you prefer to loaf around while your soldiers do the work?”
“Nag, nag, nag,” I said. “Siggy, private link, will you?”
“Yes, sir,” said the Cognitive. “We’re now talking securely. How can I be of service?”
“Track everyone down for me,” I said. “Are they all staying close? Any stragglers?”
“None yet, sir, though Miss Pryar is tracking dangerously close to the only entrance into the planet’s interior that we’ve discovered thus far.”
“That woman loves trouble, doesn’t she?” I muttered.
“Well, sir, she is rather fond of you,” said Sigmond. “So, yes, I would argue that she does.”
“Funny,” I said with a shake of my head.
“I aim to please, sir.”
“Dammit. Tell Abby to hold at the entrance,” I said. “Don’t let her go in without backup. She should know better.”
“Right away, sir.”
“What do we have in terms of maps?” I asked. “Anything useful, yet?”
“Nearly. Now that we’re inside the loading bay, my scans are beginning to map out the surrounding area. That should give us additional maps to work with.”
“Good. Get those through to each of us so we all have one on our personal screens.” I tapped the screen on my wrist for emphasis. “Oh, and point me toward Lucia,” I added, rolling my eyes. “Apparently the old lady needs help.”
Sigmond guided me toward Lucia’s location, and moments later she and I stood before an empty section inside the hangar. She set the butt of her staff against the floor, shoulders back as she surveyed the darkness.
My helmet adjusted to the gloom automatically, and I trained my rifle across the shadows. The world before me flashed green as my helmet’s visor cleared away the darkness. At once, I could see into the depths of the alcove. There were a few spots to hide in, but this place seemed as suspiciously devoid of life as the hangar.
“Ms. Lucia has requested a private channel with you, sir,” Siggy said in my ear.
“Put her through.”
“Don’t get comfortable,” Lucia warned as soon as the line opened, her tone serious. “This place isn’t as empty as it appears, and you know it.”
“Of course I know it, woman.” I nodded back to the dozens of soldiers combing through the loading bay. “What did you think all this was for? Pomp and pride?”
“There’s nothing human left in these things,” she said, ignoring me. “Celestials—what a joke of a name. Nothing celestial about them. They won’t stop. They won’t show mercy. They won’t show empathy. They have almost no weaknesses. They’re unlike anything we’ve ever seen and killing them off is going to be a beast of a task.”
“I know, Lucia,” I said gently, the weight of it all settling between my shoulder blades. “I know.”
As we cleared the final stretch of the alcove, she paused and grabbed my shoulder, tilting me toward her. “And because of all that, you need to listen closely to what I’m about to say.”
I lifted one eyebrow in curiosity, wondering where the hell this conversation was going. If it was her version of a pep talk, she was doing a piss-poor job of it.
“You cannot be afraid of sacrifice. None of us can.” She frowned at me through the visor of her helmet, her intense eyes narrowed as her grip on my arm tightened.
“I ain’t going to let anyone die, Lucia,” I snapped, stepping back. “No one’s life is worth trading for some lines of code or a shiny box.”
“Dammit, boy,” the old woman snapped. “Why do you think we’re all here? You said it yourself—everyone who crossed through that slip tunnel knew they might never come back. We came here knowing the risks because even if we die, the knowledge Titan brings back will be worth the loss.”
“That might be so, but it doesn’t mean I have to let anyone die,” I said, stiffening slightly. “I’m not about to argue with you on this, lady. This isn’t about heroics, and it isn’t about pride. I protect my own, and everyone here is my crew.” I hesitated. “Except maybe Lieutenant Rackham’s men. They’re… tourists.”
“This is not the time for jokes,” she snapped. “Listen closely, boy,” the old woman said, her voice lowering. “No one wants to die. Not today, not ever, but some of us know how to accept when it’s our time, especially if it means saving innocent lives. You put these people in front of an army and tell them they can save millions by doing it, and you can bet they’ll stand up and do what needs done.”
I groaned. “Look, if you’re trying to—”
“No one wants to be the hero and go down in a blaze of bullets and glory,” interrupted the old woman, clearly not having it. “Not really, and certainly not today. But if the moment comes where you have to choose between saving a life and getting information back to Earth that could give the rest of us a chance at living, no matter how small, I want to know you’ll make the right choice.”
I watched her, frowning even as I refused to answer. I had a feeling we had very different ideas of what the right choice would be in that situation.
“Think of Lex,” Lucia said, poking me hard in the chest. “Think of that little girl, of—”
“That’s low,” I snapped, practically growling. “Don’t you dangle her over me, woman.”
“Think of all the Eternals, colonists, children—everyone on Earth,” she said, ignoring me yet again. This conversation was starting to become extremely one-sided, and I wasn’t sure how much longer I’d let it go on. “Think of everyone looking to you for answers,” Lucia said. “For guidance. For safety.” She took a careful st
ep toward me, her eyes shifting as they continued.
They took on a faraway look and I wondered about her past. I realized it was still mostly a mystery. “You aren’t just the Captain of the Renegade Star anymore, Jace. You don’t just look out for your crew. The hopes, dreams, and future of an entire people rest on your shoulders, and yours alone. You’re a leader. And with that responsibility comes the weight of making cruel and unfathomable decisions.”
She paused, letting her words settle into my bones, and I hated every minute of it. Most of all, I hated that she was absolutely right.
“Not every hole has a way out,” she said, tapping her staff against the ground for emphasis. It briefly glowed blue, fueled by the energy core in its center, but it didn’t fire off a blast. “And not even a Renegade can get out of every mess they find themselves in. You’ve been lucky so far, but at some point that luck is going to run thin.”
“Listen—”
“Just be ready,” she said. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt today, same as you. I’ll do my damnedest not to let a soul die. But don’t you for one second think this will be easy.”
“I never said it would be.”
“I didn’t mean the mission,” she snapped, glancing me over in annoyance. “I meant the war. These creatures are going to test you. Maybe not today, but they’re going to test all of us. We stand the real chance of losing people.” She sighed and adjusted her grip on the staff. “You might have to choose between saving one… or saving many.” She poked a bony finger against my chest again. “Be ready for that moment, boy. You won’t have the luxury of time when you have to make that choice.”
Without another word, she returned to the opening of the landing bay, leaving me sifting through everything she had just said. That old woman was tough as nails, willing to say and do what needed to be said and done. Despite the points she’d made, I didn’t altogether agree with her outlook.
Out in the void, all a man had was his crew. If he took care of them, they would watch his back. If he kept them safe, they would come for him in a bind. That belief—that knowing—was all that had kept me alive thus far, and I wasn’t about to throw it away.