by JN Chaney
“How’s that?” I asked.
“By doing what you came here to do,” she said. “By finally returning to Earth, the place where all of this first began.”
Seventeen
The next morning, I awoke in my quarters, my thoughts still on the night before. I still couldn’t believe the story Athena had told me. It felt so surreal, like a daydream you fantasized about but never expected to be real. How could it be? It was so impossible, so incredibly unbelievable that it went beyond anything I thought I could imagine.
Maybe I just didn’t want to believe it. Maybe I wanted things to be simple again, the way they used to be, back before there were cognitives and megastructure moons. Hell, maybe I was still in shock from getting my ass killed by a squad of union strike ships. It was hard to say.
In any case, the mission was clear. Get as far away from the government as possible, stay on course, protect my crew, and find Earth. That was a simple plan. That was something I could do.
All this other bullshit was just extra, nothing that truly mattered. If it couldn’t keep me and my people alive and safe, if it couldn’t keep me flying, then it didn’t really matter. I smirked, wondering what Hitchens might say to that. This is all so fascinating, he might bellow out in that voice of his. Such a remarkable discovery. Oh, my!
Shit, maybe I’d tell the cheeky bastard about all this later, once things had settled down. Not today, though. Not when we were in the middle of survival.
I stayed in bed for nearly an hour drifting in and out of sleep, before a voice finally forced me to get up. It was Sigmond. “Captain, your guest is requesting your presence in her quarters.”
I let out a small groan at the thought of talking to that Union scientist. It was just about the last thing I felt like doing right now. “Did she say what she wanted?” I asked.
“She mentioned you telling her during your last conversation that you would let her depart sometime soon,” answered the A.I.
“Oh, right. I forgot about that. Guess I’d better tell her it’s gonna be a while,” I said.
I climbed out of bed and threw a shirt on, and did a quick job of fixing myself up, just so I didn’t look like a total shipwreck.
Alphonse was in the lounge when I left my room, much to my surprise. He was on the couch, watching the galnet news summary for the previous day. I was about to ask him why he was on my ship when he turned to look at me and smiled. “Ah, Captain,” he said, standing to greet me. “I thought that sounded like you.”
I cocked my brow. “Sounded like me?” I asked. “Do I have a bell around my neck?”
He laughed. “Where are you off to? I can tell by your pace that you’re in a hurry.”
“My pace, huh? Those are some good ears you’ve got on you, Constable,” I said, walking closer to him.
“I apologize. It’s the training, you see. The constables learn to use their senses, to always be aware of their surroundings. It makes us good at our jobs.”
“Not that good, considering what happened on Priscilla,” I said.
He nodded. “You have a point, Captain. I suppose even the best training can’t dodge bullets.”
A sudden thought occurred to me. “Say, you abandoned the Union, right?”
He paused. “I don’t know if that’s how I would word it,” he said.
“Oh? Then how would you say it?”
He tapped his chin. “I suppose I might call it a refusal of orders one knows to be unlawful.”
“In that case, you think you can come with me and explain that to our new friend?” I asked.
“Are you referring to Doctor Dressler?” he asked.
“That’s the one,” I answered, motioning down the other hall to the doctor’s room.
He nodded. “I’d be happy to help, Captain. Perhaps we can talk some sense into her.”
Alphonse and I continued through the ship towards Dressler’s room. Before I opened the door, I gave the Constable a brief explanation of my last conversation with the doctor. “I told her I’d give her a shuttle,” I said, right when we approached her door. “I still plan on it, if that’s what she wants, but I was hoping you could give her your perspective. Whatever that happens to be.”
He nodded. “I’d be more than happy to,” he told me, facing the door.
I unlocked it, and we entered together. Dressler stood near the other side of the room with her hands on her hips, like she’d been waiting impatiently this whole time.
Her eyes widened when she saw Alphonse. I could tell she hadn’t expected him to join us.
“Doc,” I said, stepping into the room, along with the Constable, and shutting the door. “Nice to see you. Sorry to keep you waiting in here.”
“Waiting?” she asked. “I’ve been sitting in this room for over a day, with nothing but a pad of—” She reached over to the nearby desk and grabbed the small pad, waving it around. “—of erotic fiction to read. Do you think this is some kind of joke?”
Alphonse and I exchanged a quick look. He walked over to her and took the pad. “I’m so sorry, Doctor. That was meant for someone else,” he said, blushing.
“Who in the galaxy would read such drivel?” she asked, disgusted.
“It was a gift for Al, here,” I said, nodding at the Constable.
“A gift?” she asked. “What sort of person gives such a thing?”
“I believe it was meant as a prank,” said Alphonse, tucking the pad behind his belt.
I snickered. “Saving that for later, Alphonse?”
He gasped, embarrassed, and took the pad out and handed it to me. “No, of course not. Here, please discard it at your leisure.”
I leaned in closer to him, whispering, “I’ll be sure to give this back once we’re gone.” I winked, then turned back to Dressler. “Anyway, Doc, here’s the story. I’m sorry you had to stay in here all night, but we’ve been kinda busy trying not to die.”
She pulled her head back. “I noticed,” she remarked. “I might be stuck in this room, but with all this turbulence, I assumed you had us caught up in something.”
“That’s right. The Union’s been chasing us and I’ve been trying to keep my crew alive as best I can, and incidentally, that includes you. We’ve got an army after us.”
“Did you expect otherwise when you invaded a military research facility? Of course, the Union isn’t going to simply let you walk away.”
“Even still, my point is that we’ve been preoccupied,” I said. “Hell, I nearly died a little while ago. Not that I’m complaining or anything, but cut me some slack.”
“Some slack?” she asked, like I’d just offended her. “You’ve kidnapped me and stuck me in a prison cell. Excuse me if I’m less than understanding of your situation, sir.”
I glanced at Alphonse. “She called me, ‘sir’. Did you hear that?”
“I did,” he said, holding his chin and nodding, thoughtfully. “It’s very respectful.”
“I feel so honored,” I said, holding a hand to my chest.
“If you two are finished mocking me, I’d like to discuss that shuttle you promised,” said Dressler. “I want you to send me on my way.”
“Can’t,” I said, flatly. “Not right now. You’ll have to wait.”
“Why? Because you have people after you? Just stop the ship for two minutes and let me leave. I don’t care where you do it.”
“I care,” I countered. “If we wait around, even for a few minutes, that’s time the Union has to catch up to us, and I can’t let that happen. We’re on the run. Don’t you get that?”
She growled in frustration, turning away from me and balling both her hands into fists. “This is ridiculous!”
I looked at Alphonse. “You talk to her.”
He nodded. “I’ll do what I can, but you must remember, Captain, she believes you to be nothing more than a simple brigand.”
“A what?” I asked.
“You don’t know what a brigand is?” he asked.
I stared at
him for a long moment. “No.”
He tilted his head. “It’s a villain,” he finally answered. “A lawbreaker. An outlaw.”
“Outlaw?” I asked, glancing at the doctor. “Now, that’s one thing we can all agree on.”
Alphonse edged his way closer to Dressler, who was still facing away from both of us. “Doctor, if you don’t mind,” said the Constable.
“What is it?” she asked, furiously. “Come to tell me why you betrayed your own government?”
Her words didn’t seem to faze him. “I can see you’re tired and agitated. I had to wait in a room like this one for several days before you met me. I understand how you must be feeling.”
“Do you? Because you don’t seem very angry about it. They captured you and made you a prisoner, so the first thing you do is join them?” she asked. “What’s wrong with you, Constable?”
“A great many things, I’m sure the Red Tower will say,” he told her. “Nonetheless, Captain Hughes did not capture me.”
“Hey,” I said. “Sure, I did.”
Alphonse ignored me. “I let myself be taken, because I learned a dark truth and wanted to verify it. I became a prisoner so that I might understand.”
“You let them take you?” she asked.
He nodded. “I had several chances to run,” he explained. “Even after I was in a cell, I could have fled and gotten free. I chose to remain with these people, to watch them with my own eyes.”
“Why in the galaxy would you do such a thing?” she asked.
He paused, rubbing the side of his chin. “Have you heard of the Old Earth theory?” he finally asked. “Surely, since you worked on Priscilla, you must know of it.”
“Of course, I do,” she said.
“What have you heard?” he asked.
“I’m not telling you. I swore an oath of confidence. The research is classified. All I can say is that I know about the theory,” she said.
“Let me help you,” continued Alphonse. “The Old Earth Theory states that all human life shares a single common origin point—that being Earth. This is very different from the fairytale that parents tell their children, which describes Earth as a fantasy world of magic and dragons.” The Constable cleared his throat. “Instead, the Old Earth Theory outright denies any such story in favor of a more realistic approach, based entirely on evidence collected by the Union. According to such evidence, researchers conclude that Earth was once a thriving paradise of technological wonder. Its people were said to have conquered disease, invented the first slipspace drives, and mastered many other fields of study.”
Hearing Alphonse talking about Earth reminded me of the conversation I had with Athena the previous night in the Hatchery. Everything she had told me had seemed so impossible. Now, Alphonse was saying the same things, although with less detail than Athena had.
Still, the overlap surprised me. The Union knew more than I thought about Earth, which only meant they had even more of a reason to keep pursuing us.
“What does any of that matter?” asked the doctor. “You’re talking about things that have nothing to do with either of us.”
“Ah,” said Alphonse. “But that is where you are mistaken, Doctor.”
Alphonse looked at me, almost like he wanted my permission. I responded with a short nod, giving him the all-clear.
He continued. “The Union is seeking to rediscover Earth, and in doing so, it has expanded its research efforts throughout the galaxy. It has invaded neutral zones on all sides of its borders, slaughtered countless people on dozens of worlds, and abducted hundreds of children to perform experiments on.”
“Experiments?” asked Dressler. “Are you referring to the Blue Ink Experiment?”
Alphonse smiled. “Very good, Doctor.”
She thought for a moment, then shook her head. “No, that’s not right. Those experiments ended from lack of progress.”
“Incorrect,” said Alphonse. “They ended because the lab lost its control subject.”
“Control subject?” she repeated.
He nodded. “The experiments revolved around replicating a certain tattoo on each of the children, which would—”
“Which would give them the ability to control Origin Tech,” finished Dressler. “I know.”
“What you might not be aware of, is that the tattoos were based on an original source. Another child who presented the marks at birth, or so it was theorized. No one knew for certain, since no one knew where the child had originated,” explained Alphonse.
Dressler scoffed. “Are you suggesting that the researchers were only trying to replicate an existing tattoo from another child?”
“Indeed, I am, Doctor, and I mean to tell you that the only reason the trials ended was because the child went missing.” He paused. “Well, she was kidnapped, in point of fact.”
“Kidnapped?” asked Dressler. “That can’t be true. None of it was in the files I read. How have I not heard of this?”
“Because the details of this child are highly classified, beyond the typical blue clearance level,” he said.
She listened to every word he told her, taking it all in, then let out a short sigh and shook her head. “This is all fascinating, Constable, but I have to say, I don’t know what the point of any of it is. What does the Old Earth Theory or the Blue Ink Experiment have to do with you, me, or that Renegade behind you?”
“Everything,” I finally said, taking a step closer to the two of them. “That child he’s been telling you about is here. Her name is Lex. She was rescued from a lab to save her life, and I’ll be damned if I’ll let the Union take her back.”
Dressler’s mouth dropped. “She’s here…?”
Alphonse nodded. “Correct, and now I hope you understand my role in all of this, Doctor. I came here because I wanted to know whether the child was real and worth protecting. I wanted to see the Renegade responsible for her safety and decide for myself.”
“Decide what?” asked Dressler.
“Whether I could trust him enough to join him,” Alphonse said, looking back at me. “Whether he was everything they said he was…or something else altogether.”
* * *
I was sitting in The Star when I got the call. “Jace, get your ass to the bridge. We need you up here,” said Abigail.
The com cut out, before I could answer. “That was rather abrupt,” said Sigmond.
“I think she might still be pissed at me,” I said, sitting on my sofa with my feet on the table.
“In fairness, sir, you did force both of us to abandon you, despite our protests,” argued Siggy.
“What can I say, Siggy? Sometimes I like to go at it alone,” I said with a grin.
I made my way out of the ship and headed towards Titan’s bridge. When I got there, I found Abigail, Freddie, Hitchens, Octavia, and Alphonse all standing there, watching the screen on the wall. They all turned to me, the moment I entered, but I could already see what the problem was before anyone had the chance to speak.
The monitor behind them showed an image that I quickly recognized. It was Gen. Brigham’s flagship, itself, The Galactic Dawn, flying straight through a slip tunnel. Green walls of lightning surrounded it, reflecting emerald light on its hull. The effect made the ship look almost angry.
I stepped into the bridge letting the door slide shut behind me. “Looks like we have a problem,” I said.
Freddie scratched his head. “You could say that,” he said, glancing back at the screen.
“Is that what I think it is?” I asked, walking closer.
“It seems the enemy refuses to quit,” said Alphonse.
“The enemy?” I asked, cocking my brow at him.
He smiled. “I think I’ve made it clear which side I’m on, Captain.”
I glanced at Abigail. “Is it just the one ship?”
“In the tunnel behind us?” she asked. “Yes. Elsewhere? Hard to say.”
Athena materialized in front of us. “Welcome, Captain Hughes. To answer you
r question…” She waved her hand, changing the screen.
I saw another ship, this one much smaller, with the Sarkonian design on it. Before I could say anything, the screen changed again to show another Union ship. A second later, it changed to another, and then another. In seconds, the screen switched dozens of times, cycling through a list of enemy ships, almost overwhelming me with how fast they were coming.
“Holy shit,” I muttered, blinking at the fluttering display. “Are you saying that we have a small armada coming our way?”
“It’s worse than that,” said Abigail.
“How can it be worse than that?” I asked.
Athena answered me this time. “Each of the ships is pursuing us from a different direction, across multiple tunnels. The tunnel we are now traveling through already has an end point, which means they already know where we will arrive.”
“I thought you could form tunnels with Titan and go wherever you want,” I said.
“That is true,” said Athena. “However, while I did form a new slip tunnel, we returned to retrieve you soon afterwards.”
“And?” I asked.
Octavia smacked the side of my arm. “After we picked you up, there wasn’t enough time for her to make a brand-new tunnel. She had to use the existing one.”
Abigail nodded. “The same one we were on our way to take before you tried to defuse that mine and then take on those soldiers, all by yourself.” She glared at me. “Like an idiot.”
I ignored her and looked at the Cognitive. “Isn’t there a way for you to change directions?”
Athena frowned. “I can break an existing tunnel, but I cannot change course midflight. Its direction is fixed.”
Freddie raised a finger. “So, why can’t we just break out of the tunnel and form a brand-new one?”
“Because that scenario comes with its own set of problems, given where we might arrive,” said Athena. She turned around and waved her hand at the screen. The display changed to show a planet that I instantly recognized. It was a place that I’d made a point at avoiding, and for good reason.
“Isn’t that…?” asked Abigail.
“Maelstrom,” said Alphonse. “One of the strongest military outposts in the entire Union. It’s also home to the Constables.”