Homefront

by Scott James Magner

  Mira spun around, rising half a meter from the floor. The look in her eyes was familiar, and when she spoke it struck Jantine that this is how she must have looked when she was beating on Janbi.

  "It will never be enough, Jantine." Mira waved a hand at the man on the floor. "This. . . this thing doesn’t deserve to walk around like a human being, not after what he did. Serene’s going to die if he doesn’t help us, and I’m about out of options."

  Jantine gave her weapon to Yesha, and then stepped forward to place a hand on Mira’s shoulder.

  "There has to be another way," she said. "You taught me that."

  "No. Not with him. He deserves all this, and more."

  "I don’t underst—"

  "Commander?" Yesha’s voice drew Jantine’s attention back to the man on the floor. "He’s trying to say something."

  "Only had . . . one dose. Kołodziejski barged in, grabbed . . . Couldn’t stop him. Please, don’t hurt me anymore. There isn’t any more . . . please . . ."

  Even with only one working ear, Jantine could make out what the human on the floor was saying, but Mira’s perceptions went beyond the purely physical. From the look on her face, the human was telling the truth, but his words made no sense.

  "Mira, what’s he saying? I don’t understand."

  Mira shook off her hand and started back toward the other room. There was some sort of commotion behind her, and Jantine was tired of not knowing what was going on.

  "Yesha, keep that safe for now," she said, gesturing to the human on the floor. "I’m sure we’ll have more . . . questions for him in a minute."

  "Yes, Commander."

  Jantine followed Mira, and part of her was pleased by the grim smile on the Gamma’s face as she passed. Yesha had clearly enjoyed Mira’s abuse of the human, and Jantine wondered if she’d have felt any different a few days earlier. She certainly hadn’t cared when Katra struck Captain Martin, and this wasn’t much different.

  What was it Jarl had said at the end? I have to do better.

  Mira was standing just inside the doorway, looking at something in the laboratory. Jantine slid around her, and saw Serene was sitting up on the table, arms around Carlton’s shoulders and crying. Katra was crying too, something Jantine never imagined was possible.

  "You bastards. You had no right." Mira’s voice carried across the room, and Serene turned at the sound of it. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her skin several shades darker than it had been just minutes before. But what grabbed Jantine’s attention were the child’s eyes. Brilliant blue eyes, set in an otherwise unremarkable human face.

  Understanding came in a flash, and Jantine was torn between weeping and returning to the office to finish kicking Tommy to death. But it was Mira who said the words aloud, and when she did everything changed.

  "The injector. It wasn’t the virus, it was the antidote. But the active strain in her blood . . . our blood . . . it didn’t distinguish between the two."

  Across the room, Carlton nodded, his own eyes brimming with unshed tears.

  "Yes. Congratulations, everyone. The humans finally found a way to reverse the effects of the Transgenic virus."

  Mira

  MIRA COULDN’T BELIEVE THEY’D ACTUALLY DONE IT. Captain Martin had hinted at the possibility of a vaccine, but not a cure.

  They’ve created a more terrible weapon than the virus variant that that kills instantly, and they have no idea what a good job they’ve done. We have to shut this place down, and pray no other samples have made it off the base.

  If she didn’t have the memories of an unchanged, happy, and transgenic Serene in her head, Mira would never assume the little girl in front of her was ever anything more than human. Her head was rounder in shape, and her eyes near copies of Mira’s own.

  My old ones, anyway.

  Mira was almost afraid to be near her, ashamed of her birth planet, of Tommy, and the uniform she once wore with pride. But Serene’s need for companionship was apparent even without empathic abilities, and Carlton had no experience with human children.

  At least, none of his own. Not sure how I feel about being on intimate terms with him as well, but we’ll figure it out, in time.

  Mira stepped forward, glad that she’d shed her armor earlier. The Gammas had removed the Omega’s—Brian’s—body, but Kołodziejski’s blood still coated most of the exposed surfaces in the room, including Serene. When the little girl leapt awkwardly into Mira’s arms, the impact was enough to force her back a step.

  Mira just held her, letting Serene cry herself out against her neck. Nothing she could say would make up for what she’d lost, just as there was no real way for Serene or Brian to apologize for ripping apart Mira’s mind.

  If she hadn’t given them all back, my memories would be lost now. But thanking her seems so petty, and no matter what, I still love her. How can I not? Like she said, I’m a part of her, and she of me.

  "What do you want to do, Serene? How can I help you?"

  ~Can you still hear my thoughts?~

  Serene gave no response to either query, and Mira did not press her for one. She could remember now being cold and scared and feeling like the world was ending, and although there was no going back for Serene, she was still part of a larger community that loved her.

  Larger. Right.

  "Carlton, I need you to take Serene for a while."

  "Why?"

  "Jantine, Katra, and I still have some work to do. Artemus and Jason can help you deal with her, and I’m sure some of the sleeper Gammas can as well."

  Mira could tell from his reaction that Carlton hadn’t thought of that possibility. She wanted to tell him it was going to be okay, but if experience told her anything, it was that there were a dozen other voices in his head giving him advice right now, including one that sounded a lot like her.

  Mira shifted her right arm to support Serene’s weight, and used her left hand to gently pry the girl’s arms from around her neck. As she’d expected her to, Serene resisted, burying her face into Mira’s shoulders.

  "No, I want to stay with you."

  Even her voice is different now. So young.

  "I have to go, Serene. I still have work to do. But when this is over, I promise we’ll spend time together, all right? Just you and me, for as long as you like."

  Serene sniffed, and she pulled her head up to look at Mira’s face. It could have been a trick of the light, but her hair looked a few shades darker than before, and Mira had an urge to ruffle her fingers through it.

  "Can Jason come, too?"

  Mira gave in to her impulse, adding a smile to the action.

  "Of course he can. If he wants to. Jason’s got a lot of work to do as well, helping Carlton with the sleepers, but I think he’d like that. Can you be strong for me until I get back?"

  Serene sniffed again and nodded. Mira nodded back and offloaded her into Carlton’s waiting arms. He laid her down on the biobed and gave her a mild sedative. Serene tucked her hands under her head, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

  Carlton looked up at Mira and smiled.

  "I don’t think I’ll ever be able to do that as well as you."

  "Well, I’ve never done it before just now, so I think you’ll be okay. Whatever you do, don’t let her out of your sight. There are still hostiles in the base, so don’t use any tech you’re not sure of. I might be out of mental communication range, so send a Gamma to ask for help if you have to."

  "All right. Hurry back."

  "I will."

  Katra bristled at the side of the room, and her thoughts were easy to read. She wanted to kill something, or specifically, someone, for what was done to Serene. Kołodziejski was dead, so Tommy was the only target left for her anger.

  And since I just kicked him half to death, it wouldn’t take much to finish the job. We’ll have to leave by the other door.

  Mira collected the scattered pieces of her armor and began reassembling her hardsuit. The emergency shutdown she’d performed didn’t see
m to have damaged any of its components, and while she snapped the familiar white and red pieces into place, she watched Katra for any change in her demeanor while keeping a cadence in her head.

  Right shin, left shin, front and back. SDF troopers got the knack.

  Right thigh, left thigh, up the leg. SDF enemies gonna beg.

  By the time she’d finished, Jantine had reclaimed both her helmet and Katra’s, but the Gamma refused to take it from her. Instead, Katra withdrew the supple black hood of her encounter suit from a hard pouch and pulled it over her head. A second later her visor appeared from another pouch and snapped into place without ceremony.

  Jantine simply shrugged and put on the glossy white helmet that matched her suit. When Mira pulled her induction pistol from her chest plate, both Jantine and Katra did as well, following suit when Mira checked the ammunition canister, triggered the acceleration module, and watched the indicator light cycle from amber to green.

  Awarding each of them forty points for following proper weapon discipline, she nodded to her new strike team and prepared herself for action. They might not win the Clarke Cup, but Mira would take them at her back any day.

  "All right, ladies, let’s go."

  Jantine fell in behind her, but Katra didn’t budge. Mira was two steps from the portal leading to the sleepers’ chamber when Katra voiced her objection.

  "No. There are still threats here."

  "And Artemus and eight other Gammas to deal with them," Jantine said, speaking up faster than Mira expected. The Beta was back in command mode, at least for a little while.

  "I . . . we need you with us. And after the beating Mira just gave that one," she said, hooking a thumb over her shoulder, "he’s not going anywhere for a while."

  Katra scowled and remained where she was.

  "There are still at least a dozen people in this facility," Mira said. "I don’t know what side everybody’s on yet, but I do know that they can’t lie to me. And if I can save more lives today, I have to at least try. Serene sacrificed a lot to get us this intel. We need to put it to good use. I need you at my back to do this, can I count on you?"

  Katra simply nodded. Her scowl did not diminish, but at least she started moving. Then, proving that she was always paying attention, Katra triggered a belt control and her hardsuit came apart as she took her first skipping step, and her second one carried her past Mira into the sleeper chamber.

  There was a clattering sound as the induction pistol hit the floor, and Artemus tossed her both a pulse rifle and a Colonial hand weapon. The latter disappeared almost instantly, then a second later there was a shimmering effect as Katra passed one of the suspension units. A second after that, she melded into the darkness as if she’d never existed.

  Mira formed a three-way link between herself, Jantine, and Katra. The other mods were calm and focused, and they sent her their readiness for orders. Mira was pleased that their emotions no longer threatened to crack her skull open, and she moved into the larger chamber with Jantine a step behind her.

  ~Jason’s map indicated a control chamber one level up. Katra, do you think you can find it?~

  A wordless affirmation was the Gamma’s only reply, and quicker than Mira expected, she slipped out of her mental communications range. All Mira could do was follow, pausing at the corridor entrance and scanning the opposite direction for anything Katra might have ignored.

  There was nothing there.

  ~Jantine. I hate to even ask it, but can Katra hold it together?~

  ~Of course. Katra’s the best. It’s why she’s here. Jarl was better at takedowns, but no one matches her on patrol. Those mods back there are going to be the best trained infiltrators this side of the colonies.~

  Jantine’s response was tinged with amusement, and Mira was pleased again to note that it held none of the contempt it might have a few days earlier.

  Is this my command, then? I still feel like an SDF officer, but other than Commodore Maranova, everyone from the fleet I’ve met since leaving the Valiant has pulled a weapon on me. They’ve branded me a traitor, and if being a patriot means associating with trash like Kołodziejski and Tommy, I don’t think I even care.

  The realization of her fall from grace stung, but Mira heard Emmanuel’s chuckle in the back of her mind. If her mental father figure approved of her choices, then the rest of the fleet didn’t matter.

  As they approached an autolift, Jantine pulled up short, and through her eyes Mira saw a different view of an emergency panel Mira had seen earlier and dismissed. She’d entirely missed the pattern of scratches Jantine had seen from meters away, and Mira resolved to enroll herself in Katra’s scout school when this was all over.

  ~What does it mean? Does she want us to follow, or is it a warning? None of my mod memories are combat-related.~

  ~You’re doing fine. We follow. This is one of Jarl’s marks, actually. She really cared for him, and I guess this is her way of keeping him alive. I’ll lead for now.~

  Mira still remembered the depth of Katra’s pain from the few seconds she’d let it overwhelm her that first night, and the echoes of it when they’d spoken on the train. Mira had never met Jarl save in battle, and she still didn’t know if any of the slugs that killed him had come from her guns.

  If Jantine was still grieving for Jarl, or any of her dead, it didn’t show. Her mind was focused on the task at hand and nothing else. The panel came off the wall easily, indicating Katra hadn’t secured it from within. This part of the base wasn’t on Jason’s map, but Jantine skipped ahead into an accessway of pressure-sealed moon rock as if she’d been walking it for months.

  Each new set of nearly invisible scratches she saw sent them moving in a different direction, until the map overlay appeared again in Mira’s visor, just as Jantine finished climbing a slanted shaft to the next level. Katra’s position was marked, just out of communications range.

  ~Jantine, wait up.~

  The Beta paused at the top of the shaft for Mira to join her, then turned her head toward her. Mira leaned close and touched faceplates, only speaking after verifying all her comms were off.

  "We’ve still got a long way to go, haven’t we? To trusting one another, I mean. Until now, there’s always been another goal, someplace we had to be and reasons why we couldn’t talk about what’s happened and heal."

  "Mordecai Harrison said something to me before we left. I was angry at Janbi for staying behind, angry at you and Serene, and a bunch of other things that aren’t important.

  "Harrison told me that each of us makes our own universe and peoples it with our own fears. He said that the reason why I was angry, why I’d lost control not once, but twice, is because I didn’t believe in myself. Not my abilities, or training, but myself. And until I did, I’d never be the person I wanted to be."

  It didn’t happen often, but when Jantine spoke like this, Mira could see why the Colonial Alphas had shaped an entire generation of mods to follow her.

  Jantine gestured at a section of wall with three small dots carved into it, each smaller than the other.

  "This way, but quietly. Use your abilities."

  Mira tried to keep her steps soft, wondering if her maneuvering jets would exceed the sound threshold Katra was trying to maintain. She thought about Harrison’s once-removed advice, and then remembered another conversation she’d had with Jantine.

  Or, more accurately, one she’d had with Doria.

  ~Do you remember what Doria told you, about what to do when things go wrong?~

  An image of herself and Jantine sitting in folding chairs while the Omegas worked behind them formed in Mira’s mind, and she shared it with Jantine. She felt Jantine’s appreciation of her effort, tinged with a bit of sadness.

  ~Yes, and that’s exactly what sprung into my mind when he said it. I was trying to be strong, but nothing was working right. I hated Janbi for how well he was adapting, and I loved him and feared him at the same time. But Serene was right: he’s the best of us, and he was meant to be
the person I turned to for help.~

  Jantine crouched at a corner, her hand a few centimeters away from a curved, arrow-like symbol. Mira could feel Katra moving in and out of the edges of her perception, and sent her an acknowledgment. To her surprise, it wasn’t the Gamma who answered, but Carlton.

  ~What is it? Are you back already?~

  Mira’s eyes widened, and she checked her location in the visor display. They’d traveled almost six hundred meters from the lab, well beyond her normal range.

  ~Carlton, how are you hearing me? Is Serene . . .~

  Mira didn’t even know how to ask the question, but Carlton supplied the answer she was looking for anyway.

  ~No. She’s completely virus-free, even the normal human variants are missing from her system. As for empathics, other than surface reads, I can’t get anything from her. Harren says. . . Sorry, I’m not used to this.~

  ~Hold on for a second, will you? I’m with Jantine. Jantine, did you hear Carlton just now?~

  ~Carlton? Why would I . . . is he in the tunnels with us? Has something happened?~

  Mira tried to make sense of what was going on, but before she got anywhere with her thoughts, Katra came back into range and sent words and images into the shared link.

  ~I have five hostiles in hardsuits guarding a collection of civvies and one female SDF officer. How soon can you tell me who to kill?~

  Mira sat down in the passage, trying to concentrate. She and Carlton shared more than an ability to communicate and read emotions. They shared the same ability, and more than a few of the same memories to boot.

  And if I’m right, perhaps something else as well.

  ~Carlton, I know the answer’s probably yes, but do you still have Serene’s scans from the Institute on your handheld?~

  ~Of course I do. Why?~

  ~Tommy’s . . . that lab should have a genetic sequencer. You should run a scan of yourself and compare it to those readings. And mine, if you have them. Wait till I contact you to give me the results—I have an idea about what’s going on.~

  Carlton sent her an acknowledgment, and then his thoughts disappeared as suddenly as they’d arrived. There’d be time enough to puzzle out why she was connected to the Beta like this later. Katra and Jantine needed her full attention right now.