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by Scott James Magner

  "It was a gift from his grandfather, I think. The captain didn’t talk about family in the wardroom much, but I do know he was a very old man, with very strong views on honoring one’s past."

  Mira moved her knight further into the center of the board, and Katra advanced a second black pawn to meet it.

  "Your commander was a very wise man. It is important to honor traditions."

  Mira advanced a second pawn of her own, which was quickly captured by Katra’s first.

  Oops.

  Katra was studying the board intently now, keeping the captured piece in her right hand instead of setting it down on the table.

  "When he did mention him, it was fondly. Some of his last words were about his ‘opa,’ a favorite saying of some kind."

  Mira’s queen took the field, capturing the black pawn that had invaded her side of the board. Mira set it aside, and noticed Katra’s eyes following the motion of her hand before returning to the game.

  "Do you remember the words?"

  It was Katra’s turn to move a knight, and Mira deployed one of her bishops.

  "I think so. It was in Dutch, an old Earth language the captain tried to get us all to learn. I don’t know what it means, but it was something like ‘dursten zuln de latsen jin.’"

  Katra smiled, and Mira had the distinct impression it was the expression a wolf used when cornering a rabbit.

  Katra’s bishop came out of nowhere, placing Mira in check.

  "I think you mean ‘de eersten zullen de laatsten zijn.’ It was a favorite saying of Hendrik Trajectinus, Count of Solms, Commander of the Garde te Voet. A general in your 17th century."

  Mira stared at Katra, uncertain she’d heard the mod correctly. Her accent was flawless, a near copy of the captain’s, but to her knowledge Katra had never been to Earth before, especially not to the European Reclamation. Her king was in jeopardy, and an alien warrior woman knew more about Earth’s military history than she did after top marks at the Academy. But all Mira could think about was the feeling in Captain Martin’s mind as he’d said the same words, knowing he was about to die and trying to share something important with her.

  "What does it mean?"

  "It is a religious proverb, but also a military one. ‘The last will be first, and the first last.’ It speaks of service to the greater good, and of pride."

  Matthew, 20:16. The parable of the workers in the vineyard. But why would the Captain choose that as his last message, in a language he knew I didn’t speak?

  "It is your move, Lieutenant Commander."

  Mira numbly slid her bishop up to protect her king. Katra pressed the attack, taking the piece offered and sacrificing her bishop to Mira’s knight on the contested space. Katra followed the move by castling, and then in a completely unexpected gesture tipped her king on its side before standing up.

  "You are weary, we will speak another time."

  Mira was out of her chair as well, but was tired enough that she hadn’t noticed her left leg had fallen asleep. She stumbled forward into Katra’s arms, who took her weight easily and steadied her on her feet.

  Instead of thanking the mod, Mira simply held on, wanting to know more about what had just happened, and why.

  Katra eased Mira back into her chair, and sat down herself. Mira made a show of massaging her leg for a few seconds while she tried to get a read on what Katra was thinking. Her shields were firmly in place, but her body language indicated she was definitely uncomfortable.

  "You . . . Katra, what did you want? When you came in here, you wanted to ask me something, didn’t you?"

  "Last night, I was wrong to threaten you. I found your transformation unsettling, and I did not know what the future would bring. After Jarl, and Crassus . . . Jantine, Artemus and I are the only soldiers left. They have accepted you as one of us, but I needed to know more.

  "When you were . . . assaulted by the Omega, it was your right to claim both their lives. Jantine could never act against an Alpha; Betas are born to serve. When she told us what happened, I stood aside and ordered Artemus to take no action as well. We would have killed you afterward, of course. But it was your right to try."

  "I . . . Katra, I never . . ."

  "But then you did something we still do not understand. You repaid horror with kindness, something no warrior of the Colonies ever does. And in a moment when you had every right to be vengeful, you turned enemies into allies."

  She doesn’t know. Can’t know, if I want them to see me as a whole person. But I have to try and explain . . .

  "You have to understand, Katra. It’s . . . it’s not our way to seek vengeance. It’s not my way. I have fought battles before, and I’ve taken lives. Some of the people I’ve killed were men and women I trained myself, who at the time believed they were the ones doing the right thing. I even took a few shots at you on the flight deck if I’m not mistaken.

  "But that’s war, not vengeance. I don’t hate you for what happened on the Valiant, and I don’t hate Serene or Grumpy for what they did. It was an accident, nothing more. That proverb, do you know what it really means? It says that it doesn’t matter what happens to you in life, but how you respond to the challenges it gives you does. It’s about fairness, and compassion—"

  The Gamma was the one now who looked like the wolf was coming for her, and was halfway to the door in a heartbeat. Mira wondered what Colonial taboo she’d blundered into this time.

  "No, Katra, don’t go . . ."

  Katra froze in place, then fell easily into a ready stance. It took Mira a few seconds to realize that, however indirectly, she’d given Katra an order, and the Gamma had followed it.

  She addressed me by my rank earlier, not as "Earther . . ."

  "Katra, I’m not sure what to do here. I don’t remember what I’m supposed to say, not anymore. Tell me what you want, and I’ll try to help you. But you have to talk to me, please."

  The Gamma only smiled and moved to the ladder leading down the side of the train. But she paused before leaving, face as composed and flawless as ever.

  "I came to tell you, Mira Harlan of Earth, that I acknowledge you and your accomplishments. I look forward to fighting at your side, as does Artemus. We are at your service, until the end."

  Did that just happen? How the heck am I supposed to respond to that?

  "The black pawn. It is six grams heavier than any other piece of the same size. If you are studying the chessboard for a message from your captain, you might want to start there."

  Mira looked to the two black pieces on her side of the board and out of the corner of her eye saw Katra slide down the ladder. She was almost afraid to pick up the pawn she’d captured, slightly smaller than the bishop next to it. Part of her was in awe at how skillfully Katra had manipulated the board to put it there, and the rest of her wanted to know what might be hidden inside.

  She reached out and took the piece in her hand. Her eyes widened as she confirmed Katra’s statement. It was hard to see, but there was a seam inside the carved groove on the pawn’s base. It resisted her attempts to twist it open, and neither did it budge when she pulled on it.

  Well, I’ll be. Aloysius Martin, you old fox.

  Whatever the captain had hidden inside, it meant enough to him that he’d altered or replaced one of his "opa’s" custom pieces to keep it safe. And Mira knew one secret in particular he was willing to die to keep . . .

  Jantine

  "I STILL DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY WE CAN’T USE THE bridge." Carlton’s question was a fair one. If JonB hadn’t warned them about the potential structural instability of the bridge, they wouldn’t have stopped the train and may have been in Chicago by now.

  The bridge in question was a narrow span across a wide river, one which the maps and Mira Harlan named Mississippi. There were ruins on both sides of the bridge, but across the river the crumbling piles of stone and rusting metal were slightly taller. The setting sun looked much different here than it had on the grasslands, and the shadows formed as it
peeked through the remains of the city were edged with fire.

  Unlike other bridges they’d crossed during the long day’s journey, it was barely wider than the train, with just enough clearance for the engine to pass without incident. There were small islands of some sort paralleling the bridge, but Jantine didn’t understand their function.

  JonB and Mira had performed a quick survey of the structure, and returned some unsettling news. Not only was it decrepit, but it had been mined. JonB’s quick thinking had saved them all, again, and Katra’s perimeter survey had uncovered another problem.

  The track system split into two paths several dozen meters in front of the ancient bridge, with the second spur traveling into the ruined city. While scouting for another path across the river, Katra found deep scratches cut into the metal of the tracks, and more leading into an underground tunnel.

  "Carlton," Mira said, "do you remember what I told you about the Reclamation zones?" Mira’s casual tone reminded Jantine again of the easy way Malik had handled this aspect of the mission for her, but she suspected the explanation was more for the wide-eyed Serene.

  "What is this Reclamation?" Serene had been sleeping when Mira gave her pre-dawn history lesson, and was understandably curious. Carlton blanched at the memory, and thinking about what might be down in the tunnel made Jantine’s blood hot.

  Mira turned and looked at the Alpha. For some reason, the Earther hadn’t been broadcasting her emotions for many hours, so Jantine had only visual cues to go by in determining her mood. Mira’s expression fell somewhere between sadness and embarrassment, but she seemed willing to tell the story a second time.

  "It’s a . . . dark period of our history. Earth history, about half a century before you went into suspended animation. So far, there’s been enough track for us to avoid the cities, even if it meant going a good distance out of our way. Most of the smaller towns and communities between Old Kansas and here were already abandoned when the war started, but the cities . . . I don’t want to be sitting here all night if I can help it."

  "What kind of war?"

  Jantine saw Katra and Mira set their jaws at Serene’s question, and she imagined each was thinking the same thing she was.

  There is only one kind of war. The weapons may change, but the results are always the same.

  Mira crouched in front of Serene, face carefully neutral. Despite her statements of forgiveness, the Earther still had to feel some resentment over what was taken from her. But having heard this story herself, Jantine knew that Mira was trying to put the best possible spin on an even greater atrocity.

  "A bad one. One that should never have happened, but in hindsight most scholars believe it was inevitable. Earth was a much different place, then. We’d used up many of our resources, and we were surviving by taking what we could from the rest of the system. Mars and Titan had only been settled for a hundred years, and we’d already cut off contact with the Outer Colonies."

  Serene nodded. There was no need to rehash the Exile, she knew more about it than anyone else present.

  "But here on Earth, there were problems too big to ignore. The World Congress had dissolved, and nation-states were arming themselves with whatever they could buy, invent, or steal. Those who already had access to space could take whatever they wanted, and only a few were willing to protect those who could not."

  "So what happened?"

  Mira smiled and lowered herself the rest of the way to the ground. Face half in shadow, she looked up at Jantine before continuing her explanation. Jantine thought a simple question at her.

  ~Who will you need to scout the tunnel?~

  ~Katra and Jason. Carlton too, if you can spare him. I need someone with no military training.~

  ~Not JonB?~

  ~No, he’s more valuable up here with you. If something happens to us . . .~

  ~Understood.~

  "You have to understand," Mira said, "everyone was so afraid. If you didn’t have a weapon, you were an easy victim for those who did. And once you had one, before too long someone else would get a bigger one. But there wasn’t just an arms race, there was a knowledge race as well.

  "Corporations were nearly as powerful as governments, and they sold their inventions to whoever had the most money. Most often one another, but there were enough spies on all sides to render any advantages moot in short order."

  "I still don’t understand," Serene said. "Why? And what’s wrong with the bridge?"

  Mira’s smile was a brittle thing that threatened to crumble if she pressed her lips any tighter together. Jantine looked up and caught Katra’s eye: she tapped her left cheek with her forefinger. The Gamma acknowledged the signal for communication and moved back from the rest of the group.

  Jantine placed a hand on Serene’s back, and leaned down to kiss her on the forehead. The Alpha stared at her with a confused look, until Jantine gestured toward Mira by wagging the fingers of her left hand. Mira patted the ground next to her to complete the message, and Serene moved forward to sit next to the Earther.

  Jantine stepped away from the assembled mods, and she frowned when JonB tried to come with her. He narrowed his eyes and cocked one eyebrow, but when she mouthed "later" at him, he resumed his position against the train and simply watched her walk away.

  Trust me, JonB. You don’t want to know about this just yet.

  "The weapons kept getting more and more destructive. Air superiority was still a deciding factor, so the great powers for the most part ignored what was going on down here on the surface. If one of them took a side in a corporate conflict, there’s no telling what might have happened. But they didn’t stop building their own weapons, and in the end all it took was one mistake to set the world on fire."

  Jantine walked around the back of the train to the other side. The three cars attached to the engine were tall enough to block her line of sight to the mods gathered around Mira, and after she descended a small hill toward the ruins, she could no longer make out the Earther’s words. There was nothing she could do about the Omega’s acute hearing, but she was satisfied there was enough distance between her and the others to use the scattercomm undetected.

  She ran a finger down her jawline and heard two clicks in her ear.

  "How big would you say it was?"

  "Possibly as large as the train engine," Katra whispered, "but more likely half that size. The marks were fresh, not weathered. No more than one day. If it’s one of Mira’s war machines, it’s still active."

  Jantine didn’t have to ask if Katra was sure—she wouldn’t have brought it up in her scouting report if the Gamma didn’t consider it a threat.

  "Mira will lead. Yourself, Carlton, and Jason. Priority is to secure a clear path under the river, but I want no casualties. Withdraw if you feel the situation warrants it. Use the Earther comms, they have longer range. Mira will advise."

  "Understood. Commander?"

  "Speak freely."

  "Why do we risk the Omega in this fashion?"

  A good question, with no good answer. But there was an easy one, and though she didn’t like it, it was good enough.

  "Mira thinks it best to use a combination of artificial and natural senses. If someone else is using this transport system, we need to know about it. And as Mira says, these machines are very dangerous. If there is a potential danger in this region, we must eliminate it as soon as possible."

  "Understood. Perimeter sweep ready in fifteen."

  One click sounded in her ear, and Jantine disabled the scattercomm.

  Jantine was in no particular hurry to rejoin the others, so she drew her hand pulser and sat down to watch her second sunset on Planet Earth. Even filtered through ruined buildings, Sol was a marvelous sight, and it provided more than enough illumination to field strip her weapon.

  She checked each piece for defects in the red-orange light, and snapped in a fresh energizer as she reassembled the pistol. There was more than enough charge remaining in the old one, but Mira’s earlier warnings w
ere still echoing in her head, and she saw no reason to face them at anything less than maximum combat readiness.

  "Terrible weapons, capable of reprogramming themselves to overcome any threats. But in the end, there was no greater threat to the war machines than the people who’d invented them, especially those who’d expressed transgenic traits . . ."

  Mira

  SOMETHING CRUNCHED UNDER MIRA’S BOOT, AND THE sound echoed off the tunnel’s walls. So far, neither her own enhanced vision, the visor’s optics, nor borrowing some of Jason’s senses had detected anything more than a wide tunnel with ancient, rusting machinery.

  Whatever made the scratches Katra found, it’s definitely down here somewhere.

  The darkness was almost a living thing, a deep, chilling black that clung to every surface like tar. But they weren’t using active sensors, which meant that despite his Beta reflexes, Carlton tripped over every raised object in his path.

  Mira put out a hand to catch him, but whatever it was he’d kicked went skittering to the left and clanked off the side of the tunnel.

  Mira froze at the sound, and she felt both Katra’s and Jason’s awareness spike. Seeing the tunnel though the Omega’s eyes wasn’t much different than the dim outlines drawn by her visor, but she at least had a more complete idea of where the major obstacles and walls were. Plus, since the Omega wasn’t wearing a protective suit, she had access to his sense of smell. So far, he’d only registered dust, rust, and ancient hydrocarbons, but there was always a chance she might notice something Jason would otherwise ignore.

  In contrast to the other mods’ cool resolve, Carlton’s emotions were like a hammer pounding inside of her head. Carlton knew only the basics of how to use his encounter suit and, as such, had only Mira’s hand to tell him where he was. He was completely out of his element, but Mira needed someone without military training for this patrol, who would be afraid of everything they encountered. She was hoping the Beta’s subconscious mind would give them some advance warning of an attack, and she hated herself because of it.