by Tom Chattle
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Other Works
Ruins of Talamar by Tom Chattle
www.tccraftworks.com
© 2020 Tom Chattle
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.
Cover by Tom Chattle
- 1 -
2208.10.03 // 06:54
UNI Lunar Facility, the Moon
Violet, incandescent energy bombarded the station's struggling void shields, and the deck rumbled and shuddered underfoot. Hundreds of unfamiliar ships continued to swarm out of rift-space, and their massive weapons turrets rippled off brutal volleys of fire, teeming waves of needle-like fighters deploying the moment their parent vessels translated.
Auri Chen stood against the huge window, her hand pressed to the cold, armored glass. Taken by surprise by the sudden, chaotic attack, frantic crew members hurtled past her, but she ignored them and stared at the awesome, yet terrifying sight. Hulking batteries of defense turrets swiveled and unmasked their rail-cannon barrels, then sent a hailstorm of hypersonic kinetic rounds shrieking back at their attackers.
Chen gazed down at the broad arc of Earth's atmosphere that spread out below them. As the orbital defenses were devastated, squadrons of craft deorbited, huge explosions visible on the surface even from this altitude. The swarms of attackers indiscriminately savaged the cities and installations below, destruction left in their wake.
Chen squinted at the sight before her and shook her head. This didn't seem right. She pressed her face against the cold viewport- and tried to make out the details of the invading ships, but nothing would focus. A high-pitched ringing filled her ears, and she shook her head to clear the discordant tone but was met with no success.
A jumble of muffled voices echoed behind her, but she couldn't make them out. Clamping a sweaty palm to her forehead, she drew it down her face and blinked; the sounds of battle became even more muffled. A hand wrapped around hers, and Chen jolted before the fingers intertwined with hers.
"Don't worry, Auri," Alex Bauer said. She moved closer and pulled Chen in tight. "Everything will be okay."
Chen allowed herself to be drawn in, comforted by the presence of the woman she loved. She desperately wanted to believe the assurance, but she was painfully aware of just how wrong everything about this was. "Alex, you died," she objected half-heartedly, and a sharp pain lanced through her temple. Tinges of amethyst light drew in around the ragged edges of her vision, all noise other than the comforting sound of Bauer's breath lost to the ringing in her ears.
"Everything will be fine," Bauer whispered. Her hand raised to Chen's face, and she rested her head against Chen's.
A gentle sob rocked through Chen's body, and she leaned in close. A bass rumble ripped through the floor, and the blinding light that built behind her tightly-closed eyes overwhelmed them both.
***
Chen gasped, and her eyelids snapped open. She groaned and threw up a hand to shield her pupils from the unyielding light burning down from the single harsh light fixture that lit her small room. She brought the hand back down and wiped the back of it across her forehead, clearing the clammy prickle of sweat that had built up from the nightmare.
Always the same damn nightmares. Chen sighed, rolling over on the narrow cot that was all she had to sleep on. She pulled herself up with a soft groan and leaned back against the cool wall, blinking her eyes to get them to focus. The view that greeted her was the same she'd seen every morning for the last four or five months. She'd lost count at this point. Hell, it wasn't even a room; it was a cell. Hardly big enough for her fold-down bed, a table, and a semi-private toilet, sink, and shower. Empty of any real comfort, the space was depressing. Bare, gray walls, ceiling, and floor all merged into one. The only window was a narrow slit high on the wall above the bed, which afforded nothing more than the barest view of the stars beyond.
Chen grunted and stretched tight, unused muscles. A wave of dizziness washed over her when she stumbled to her feet, and she shuffled over to the tiny metal sink. Placing her hands under the faucet, she allowed a sputtering stream of water to cool her wrists.
However weak the flow was, the cold water felt good in her cupped palms. She closed her eyes and splashed it across her face; the chilly liquid washed off the night's sweat to allow her a rare flash of relief.
Her finger caught on a ridge of rough skin, and she traced the scar that bisected the left side of her face—a long-term reminder of the battle with the alien leader on a far-off world that had resulted in Alex's death. A bubble of anxiety swelled within her chest, and Chen's breath quickened. It had been months, but the sight of Alex's dull, open eyes and pale skin as she lay dead against the side of the Syrax shuttle haunted her every thought.
Chen bit her lip and gazed into the mirror. She frowned and tugged at a loose edge of scar tissue. At least it was healing—finally—but her eyes were red from lack of restful sleep, and the roots of her tangled hair continued to whiten. That was an unexpected after-effect from the battle that the doctors had chalked up to post-traumatic stress.
A sharp buzz from the door jerked her attention away from the almost unrecognizable visage facing her in the mirror.
"Breakfast." The lack of enthusiasm in the guard's voice was always the same. It didn't matter which guard, male or female—they all sounded the same. Bland boredom with a hint of irritation at the menial tasks they had to perform for incarcerated nobodies. In her dreams, they were huge alien brutes, but the reality was, the guards were very much human.
The small slot in the center of the heavy metal door slid open with a rusty squeal, and a tray made of chipped plastic emerged. She shuffled over to grab it but twitched when the thoughts of the guard echoed all too clear through her mind.
~I can't believe I'm missing a day out with Kelly to babysit this freak~
Chen smacked a palm against the side of her head to try to clear the man's voice, then grabbed the tray and backed away. A chair sat next to the small table in her cell, and she sank into it with a sigh. Ever since making it back to the UVS Valiant after their catastrophic encounter with the ancient Syrax r
ace, the thoughts and voices of people nearby had started to intrude into her mind more and more frequently. At this point, anytime she was around more than a few people, their combined thoughts built up to such a din that Chen could barely think straight. However depressing her cell, at least here, she just had a handful of people a day to contend with. That fact alone was all that helped when she thought of her crew and friends. She hadn't seen any of them since the Valiant had arrived—bruised and battered—back in the solar system. As far as she knew, none of them wanted anything to do with her after the fiasco of her own making.
She picked at the gelatinous eggs on her plate. The food barely interested her, but when she tried to force down a few bites regardless, her stomach refused. She pushed away the plate and stood. With nowhere else to go, she moved back to her cot against the wall. The thin mattress was at least more comfortable than the tiny, metal chairs.
Her mind sank back to the self-destructive thoughts she couldn't shake. Maybe the guard was right; maybe she was a freak who deserved to be locked up in here. With all the changes she'd been through in the seven or eight months since the Valiant had first arrived in the Arcturus system, Chen wasn't even sure she was entirely human anymore. If she'd just listened before going on that mission, maybe she'd be relaxing somewhere right now, head on Alex's chest, instead of rotting in what her captors optimistically called "medical isolation."
Elbows resting on her knees, Chen dropped her head to her palms and wished she could go back to the moment the Valiant entered the Arcturus system and do everything again. If only life worked like that.
Footsteps outside the door made her curl fingers through matted hair. "Shit."
The harsh alarm above the door buzzed again, but this time, it swung open and a man stepped through.
- 2 -
2208.10.03 // 07:16
UNI Lunar Facility, the Moon
Lieutenant Commander Darren Bennett was not a tall man. Face thin, cheekbones sharp, his blond hair was slicked back, and his black and gray uniform was spotless.
"Good morning, Lieutenant Chen."
The voice alone made Chen want to punch him. It had an annoying, nasal quality that, combined with the sneer that seemed permanently fixed on his face, made him instantly unlikeable.
Without a word, he gestured at the table and pulled a seat out for himself.
Maybe it was just the fact she'd had to go through the same routine with him almost every day since she was thrown in this hole, but Chen was thoroughly sick of the man. From Naval Intelligence—the branch of the Union military that the front-line branches loved to hate—Bennett had been an almost constant presence in Chen's life the last few months. Every day, he would sit her down and ask her the same old questions, somehow expecting the answers to change.
She chewed on the inside of her lip to hold back a snide remark, then reluctantly joined him at the table. The cold, hard metal chair made her grimace, and she shifted to try to get comfortable.
Bennett laid out a large datapad before him. "Shall we begin?"
"Do I have a choice?" Chen shot back, her voice gravelly from lack of sleep.
Thin lips curled up in what Chen assumed was supposed to be some kind of smile. She repressed a shudder. It brought to mind what she thought it might look like if a Syrax matriarch could smile.
Bennett peered down at his screen and began to list facts she'd previously stated. Chen sat back and tuned him out. She focused on the man's forehead and tried to pull his thoughts from his mind, concentrating on the rise and fall of her chest. Occasional words, some vague feelings but...nothing of substance. She wasn't sure why she couldn't dive into Bennett's thoughts when everyone else's bombarded her—against her will—at every turn, but, given that NI were fully aware of the abilities she'd reported gaining from the Syrax matriarch's painful attempts to pry into her mind, Chen assumed it was part of the reason he was assigned to interrogate her.
The medical teams and scientists had full knowledge of everything she and her crew had reported when they returned. Any form of human psychic ability was unheard of, and the amount of invasive and painful experiments they had repeatedly conducted on Chen since then had left their marks—both physically and mentally.
"Lieutenant?"
Chen realized Bennett was staring at her with hard, expectant eyes. "I'm sorry, could you repeat the question?"
Bennett's jaw clenched, and he sucked on his teeth. "The alien console you mentioned in..." he glanced down, "part three, sub-section eight of your original report. What did you see when you interacted with it?"
Chen took a deep breath and gripped her knees. "I told you a hundred times what happened on every single damn detail of that report."
The intelligence officer sat back, laced his fingers together, and placed them on the table. "Lieutenant, this process is important to establish the facts of a very bizarre and, frankly, unbelievable incident. Despite your attitude, it needs to be done." He raised an eyebrow. "The less cooperative you are, the longer it will take."
"I've already been here for months!" Chen snapped. "You locked me in a goddamn cell and ask me the same questions over and over again. You haven't even let me speak to anyone from Fleet. When the hell am I getting out of here?"
Bennett's blue eyes bored into hers. "You are here for the safety of yourself, as well as the safety of the rest of humanity. You will be kept here until it is deemed by medical professionals that it is safe for you to leave." He spread out his hands. "Now, shall we continue? Please describe what happened when you first discovered the wreckage of the Wilde Star."
"You don't even care, do you?" Chen yelled, frustration getting the better of her.
"Excuse me?"
"People died on that planet, good people. We encountered a powerful, hostile alien race that we need to be preparing for, not sitting here on our asses wasting time on questions that have been answered over and over!"
Bennett folded his arms. "I'm well aware that people died. Four civilians, seven Marines—including their commander—"
"Alex Bauer," Chen ground out. "She had a name, just like the rest of them."
"Yes, I know Lieutenant Bauer's name," Bennett started.
Chen shoved back the chair and jumped up. "Then why don't you care!" she yelled, slamming a palm down on the table. "If we don't find a way to defend ourselves then they all died for nothing!"
"Lieutenant Chen!" Bennett growled. "Calm down. Now."
For an instant, anger clouded Chen's sight, violet rage creeping in the edges of her vision. She wanted to reach out and rip the arrogant man's head from his skull; to slice him open and tear out his insides with long, steely talons. She bared her teeth and snarled, bruised fingers digging into the tabletop before the moment passed and she slumped back into the chair, exhausted.
After a long pause, Bennett rapped a knuckle on the table to draw Chen's attention. "Are you quite finished?"
Chen raised heavy eyes and let out a long breath. "Can't you at least tell me what's going on outside this hole?" Chen asked, her palms pressed flat on the table. "Are any preparations being made? What happened to the Valiant's crew?"
She wished she could talk to any of them, even if they didn't want to. After years with McCann being as close a friend as she'd ever had, being unable to speak to him was particularly painful.
"I'm not authorized to discuss such matters with a compromised individual such as yourself."
"I'm not..." Chen began, then abandoned the protest. What was the point? They'd been going around in the same circles for months. If she'd been in a Fleet brig, she'd have had access to counsel, but here, she had nothing. What could she do, just acquiesce? She shook her head and locked eyes with Bennett. "I'm not compromised. Whatever that...beast did to me is no danger to the Union."
Raising a single eyebrow, Bennett tapped at his tablet. "You've complained about reading people's thoughts. You've mentioned strange dreams—visions as you called them...and, on top of that, you've shown an al
arming tendency to violent outbursts." He put the device down and jutted out his chin. "Tell me, Lieutenant Chen, how are you not a threat to humanity?"
"All I want is to help..." Chen mumbled, tired of having to try to maintain her innocence against someone who clearly believed otherwise.
"You can help, Lieutenant, by cooperating with Naval Intelligence and answering my questions." There was an edge to Bennett's voice; it didn't seem like he enjoyed this any more than Chen did. "Perhaps that is enough for today. Try and get your mind straight for tomorrow's session."
Bennett stood, gathering his belongings from the table. "Oh, the medical team released their latest report." He scanned it, lip curling. "Unlike they surmised previously, they now believe the changes to your hair may be linked to the unusual brain wave patterns they have been monitoring during each examination."
He looked Chen up and down, eyes hard. A single word escaped the tight grip his mind held on his thoughts and raced through Chen's head. ~Tainted~
Without a further word, Bennett left, and the door hissed shut behind him. For several long minutes, Chen remained where she sat, her eyes glued to the scuffed surface of the table where she had hit it. She brushed straggled hair back and stood, wandering over to the small cot. Once on it, she curled up and rolled to face the wall. The dents and scratches she'd made from months of lashing out in her sleep at the monsters that stalked her nightmares stared back at her.
Maybe Bennett was right, maybe it was best she remained locked up here, unable to hurt anyone she cared for. Not that any of them would likely give her a second look after the pain she had caused them...
Heavy eyelids drooped, and Chen drifted off to sleep, visions of Alex floating through her head.
- 3 -
2208.10.09 // 12:18
UNI Lunar Facility, the Moon
Another week had passed—at least, by her best estimates—and the continued days of repetitive nightmares, interrogations, and medical exams wore heavily on Chen. She could feel the uncertainty and dislike of all those who surrounded her—except for Bennett, although he made it obvious in a myriad of other ways.