by JN Chaney
It looked like a conference room, with a long table at the center. What stood out, and the reason Hitchens saw fit to make his exclamation, was the woman standing behind one of the seats, her hands clasped behind her waist. “Welcome. Please, have a seat.”
We each stared at her. “What’s this, now?” I asked. “I thought you were—”
“This is my hard-light representation,” she explained, taking a few steps toward us. “There are emitters in certain areas of the ship which allow me to manifest my physical form so that I might interact with the animate world.”
Lex let go of Hitchens ran up to Athena.
Athena bent and smiled at her. “Hello, there.”
“Hi, my name is Lex,” said the little girl.
“Is that so?” asked the strange woman.
Seeing them together, I couldn’t help but notice the similarities. Their hair and eyes were identical.
“You’re pretty,” said Lex.
“Thank you, Lex. You’re very lovely, too,” said Athena.
“This is getting creepy,” I whispered to Abby.
“Jace, be quiet,” she snapped.
“You don’t think it’s weird? Look at those two. They could be sisters.”
“Stop being rude!”
Athena stood up, placing her hand on Lex’s back. “Your Captain is correct,” she said, looking at us. “Lex and I do share certain qualities.”
“Y-You mean,” stuttered Hitchens. “The two of you are…you’re the same sort of…person?”
“Not at all,” answered Athena. She glanced down at Lex, who was smiling, bright-eyed and cheerful. “She is an organic being, the same as you, but we do share a certain history together.” She paused, touching the girl’s helmet and, strangely, phased her hand through it, touching Lex’s hand and running a finger through it. “We are remnants of what could have been.”
“You’re not making any sense,” I said, reaching towards Lex and taking her by the hand. I pulled her back to me and away from this woman, this cognitive. “Lex grew up far away from here. We didn’t even know this place existed before today. How could you two be connected? How could any of this exist? Who the fuck are you, lady? What the hell is going on?”
A high-pitched noise hit me in the ear, hit all of us in the ear, making everyone cringe. It stopped suddenly, replaced by heavy static. I thought I could hear words, somewhere in it, like shouting in a snowstorm.
“Captain…read…ship…there!”
“Freddie?!” I shouted. “Fred, can you hear me?”
“I he…you…ome…in…!”
“Goddammit!” I shouted.
Athena held her hand up, like she was offering something, and then motioned gently to the wall beside me. “One moment, please. Your transmission is being disrupted by Titan’s electromagnetic shield.”
“Is there any way to clean it up?” I asked.
“I believe there is,” said Athena.
“…aptain, do you read…? Please, respond!”
“Freddie, I’m here!” I answered. “You picking me up?”
“Yes, sir! Loud and clear! Please, tell me you know what’s going on.”
“Only kinda sorta, but don’t worry. I think…” I glanced at Athena, who stared at me with a calm smile. “I’m pretty sure things are good.”
“You don’t sound very confident about that. Should I be worried?”
“Don’t tell me how I sound, Freddie! Just get the ship parked and standby!”
Abigail snickered. “You really showed him.”
“Don’t test me right now, nun,” I said, raising my eye.
Hitchens waddled closer to Athena. “Madam, if you wouldn’t mind another inquiry.”
“On the contrary,” Athena assured him. “I do love conversations. It has been quite some time since I last had one with a human.”
The Doctor nodded, smiling nervously. “Heavens, where to begin? I suppose the first question would have to be, is this ship, are you, from Earth? Is that how you came to be here?”
She smiled. “Oh, yes, Doctor. I was born there, as was this vessel. We are both made of Earth, though I must admit, it has been many centuries since I last looked upon it.”
“Centuries?” asked Hitchens. “How old are you, exactly?”
“Exactly 2260 years have passed since I was born,” Athena said.
I whistled. “Damn, Hitchens. You’re not supposed to ask that.”
“Might I ask, were you searching for Earth? Is that why you have come here?” asked Athena.
Abigail answered this time. “We’ve been following what we thought was a map. Instead of taking us to Earth, it brought us here, to this system. Looks like we were wrong.”
“On the contrary,” said Athena. “Our meeting is imperative to your rediscovery of Earth. It is the reason I have allowed you access to this vessel.”
“You knew we were looking for it?” I asked.
“Yes, Captain. In fact, it is why I brought you out of slipspace.”
“That was you?” asked Abigail.
“Partially. I was only able to detect you because of the activation of a turn-key.”
“A what?” I asked.
“Could you be referring to a small object, encased in a locked box?” asked Hitchens. “Lex was playing with one when we arrived.”
“Your description is accurate,” she said. “It is a communications device, although it has multiple functions.”
Lex bobbed on her feet, excitedly. “I brought it! It’s in my pocket!” She tried to remove her helmet, finally releasing the switch and undoing the seal.
“Hey, hold on a second kid!” I snapped, reaching for her.
She pulled away and dropped the helmet, letting it roll, then started for her sleeves. “Get it off,” she said, tugging at the suit.
“Please,” said Athena. “There is no need to be concerned. You are safe aboard this vessel. The atmosphere is fully functional and contained.”
Lex managed to get her zipper down. “Ugh, why is it so hard?”
I looked at Abigail, who gave me an uncertain shrug. Hitchens did the same.
Fuck it, I thought, and turned my helmet, snapping it free of the seal.
I took a deep breath of the atmosphere. It was normal, although a little cleaner than The Star’s. I had expected something thicker with age and decay, but it seemed this place was well-taken care of, even after all this time. “It’s good,” I finally said. “Kinda surprised.”
“These types of facilities don’t tend to get musky when they’ve been left alone for a while,” explained Hitchens, removing his own helmet. “Space does a fine job of preserving them without much decay.”
Lex found the artifact in her pockets, showing Athena with a happy grin on her face.
“I can’t believe you’ve been carrying that around,” I said.
“It’s pretty,” said Lex, as if that answered everything.
Athena took it, examining the device. “This appears to be fully functional. Many of the ships that left Titan took such devices with them, allowing those ships to stay in contact with each other across vast distances. I was surprised to see that you had two of them on your ship.”
“Two?” asked Hitchens, looking at me.
“I may have kept the first one,” I said, giving him a slight grin.
Athena smiled. “I must commend you for your forward thinking, Captain. Your acquisition of this device is what allowed me to track your movements. It is also how we can contact your ship.”
“How’s that?” I asked.
“One moment, please.” She held the device and touched it to the nearby wall, causing the turn-key to glow. After a quick moment, Athena looked at me. “Now, speak and your associates will hear you.”
“Speak?” I asked. “You want me to just talk to them? But they don’t—”
“Captain?!” shouted Freddie in a terrified voice. “Is that you? Where are you?”
“Freddie? Can you hear me?” I ask
ed.
“I sure can!” he exclaimed. “Where are you? Are you seeing that strange light coming from the surface? Did you do that?”
“Strange light? Did it start back up again?” asked Abigail.
“It has been reactivated,” explained Athena. “The process is part of an energy transference procedure, necessary for Titan’s nuclear power grid to reach full sustainability.”
“You’re siphoning power from the planet?” asked Abigail.
“The power grid on the surface was installed many centuries ago. The system accumulated nuclear power and has been waiting for activation. Before now, I have been operating solely on reserve power.”
“So, if I’m understanding you correctly,” said Hitchens. “When Lex touched the tower, it activated the transfer from the generators below ground to this ship. Is that correct?”
“Approximately,” answered Athena.
“Hey! Is anyone there? Whose voice is that? I hear a woman,” said Freddie.
I leaned in close to the turn-key, which was still attached to the wall. “Sorry, Fred. We’re inside the Moon, talking to a two-thousand-year-old woman about the secrets of the universe. Give me just a goddamn second.”
“A what?!”
I was about to ask Athena another question when she froze, going completely still. The wall behind her flickered, showing a view of empty space above the planet. “Pardon me,” she said. “It seems there are more ships arriving.”
“More?” asked Abigail.
Athena turned toward the screen as six Sarkonian ships came out of partial-light speed.
“Is that who I think it is?” asked Abigail.
“You mean the psycho chick with the scar? Judging by the damage to the hull, I’d guess so,” I said.
“Am I to understand that these individuals are hostile?” asked Athena.
“Oh, yeah,” I said.
Lex walked up to the screen, staring up at the Sarkonian ships as they grew closer to where The Renegade Star was floating. “Uh, oh,” she said, looking up at me.
I placed a hand on her head. “You said it, kid.”
Twenty-Four
“Uh, hello?” said Freddie. “I think we have a problem!”
“Yeah, no shit, Fred! Siggy, are you hearing me?”
“Affirmative,” answered Sigmond.
“Raise your shields and get your fat ass behind this Moon!”
“Doing so now, sir.”
“Oh, dear,” said Hitchens. “They must have followed us through the tunnel.”
“Yes and no. Did you see how they showed up? It wasn’t from a tunnel. They must have missed the break-off and kept going to the next S.G. Point,” I explained. “Their engines must be better than I thought.”
“Titan is not yet prepared for armed conflict,” said Athena. “I do hope they restrain themselves.”
“You can’t fight back if they attack?” I asked.
“We lack the energy reserves to wage a proper assault. However, the shield is operating at 80% efficiency. It will hold off their attacks for quite some time, barring any unforeseen circumstances. However, such defensive measures will not last forever. Titan has its limits.”
“We need to get The Star inside the shield,” I said.
“Uh, Captain, one of the ships is signaling us,” said Freddie.
“Siggy, can you put them through?” I asked.
“Yes, sir. Please hold.”
There was a brief pause. “Captain Jace Hughes,” said a determined, but familiar voice. “This is Commander Mercer Equestri. I have someone that would like to speak with you.”
“What the fuck is she talking about?” I muttered.
“He…Hello? Who is this?!” It was a girl’s voice. She sounded almost delirious. “Th-They have my father! Please, someone—”
“Stop babbling!” snapped Mercer. “Tell them your name!”
“M-My name is C-Camilla. Please, someone help—”
“Did you hear that, Captain?” asked Mercer. “The girl, the same one you stole from Sarkonian space. She’s here, not two meters away from me. Her father is with us, too.”
“Goddammit,” I said, talking through my teeth. “This fucking woman.”
“What should we do?” asked Freddie.
“Keep her talking to you. Tell her I’m on my way to the bridge or something,” I said.
“You—You want me to handle this?” he asked.
“Just do it, Fred! I need a second to think.”
Fuck, I thought. I couldn’t just turn myself over to this psychopath. People like Mercer always went back on their deals, even when they didn’t need to. Not that I’d agree to her terms anyway. To Hell with that, but there had to be a way out of this. There was always a way, if you looked hard enough. I just needed to slow her down. I needed to…
“That’s it!” I exclaimed. “Athena, how do those beams work, exactly? Can you grab onto bigger ships than the one we came here on?”
“It depends on the size of the vessel,” she said.
“What about those?” I asked, nodding at the screen.
She froze again, just for a second, and then relaxed. “Yes, Titan’s tractor beams can hold them, but not for an extended period of time.”
“What are we talking here? How long?”
“Approximately ten minutes, based on current power levels.”
Ten minutes. It wasn’t much. Could we board their ship and rescue the girl and her dad while fending off a group of heavily-armed soldiers? Maybe, but it might be messy. “We’ll need our gear and a ride out of here. Think you can arrange that?”
Athena nodded. “I can send you back to your vessel with the same craft you arrived in.”
“Captain, you aren’t suggesting we storm their ship?” asked Hitchens.
“We? No, just me and Abigail. The rest of you aren’t trained for this.”
“You expect the two of us to take on an entire crew of soldiers?” asked Abigail. “I’m certainly up for the challenge, but it does seem a bit suicidal.”
“Might I make a suggestion?” asked Athena.
I shrugged. “Sure, what do you got, lady?”
“Titan still has an armory. Since you do not possess augmentations like Lex, you will not be able to fully utilize the weaponry. However, you may find some use from the personal shield technology.”
“You have an armory?” I asked. “Why didn’t you say so? Quick, show us what you have.”
“Please, follow me.”
“Hold on a sec,” I said. “Siggy open the line so Mercer can hear me. Everyone else, shut up.”
“The line is active, sir. Speak when ready.”
“Mercer, if you’re hearing me, this is Jace Hughes.”
“Ah, Captain, there you are,” she answered. “I’m glad to see my proposition spurred a response from you.”
“Mercer, I’m sure we can figure out some kind of deal. You let those two go and maybe today doesn’t have to be that bad. I’m willing to turn myself in. Just please, don’t kill me.”
“So, you’ve agreed to my terms? That’s a wise move on your part. Move your ship out from behind that moon and prepare to be boarded.”
“Give me ten minutes and you’ll have yourself a deal. Do it, and I’ll surrender.”
“Ten minutes,” she said. “But if you attempt to run or attack, I’ll order all of my ships to destroy yours. I don’t care if we lose the child you’re carrying. I’ll kill all of you.”
“I get it,” I said. “Talk to you soon.”
“Line disconnected,” said Sigmond.
“Now,” I said, turning to Athena. “Show me this so-called Armory.”
* * *
The Armory was huge, with heavy lockers and cabinets along the walls. I tried to open the first one I saw, but it wouldn’t budge. According to Athena, only a registered Titan resident could unlock them, and we certainly weren’t that.
Athena touched my shoulder and a pale blue glow appeared, all along my body. I
t wasn’t touching me, exactly. Just hovering over me, like a piece of clothing that sat about three centimeters from my body.
Then, it disappeared. “What just happened?” I asked.
“This is a personal shield augmentation. It has a set charge limit, currently of 35%.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“The field will absorb projectiles, but please use caution. The equipment is not at full capacity and will only be able to withstand two or three attacks.”
“That should be all we need,” I said, looking at Abigail. Her body glowed as Athena activated the other shield. Like mine, it only lasted a second or two.
When we were ready, we made our way back to the docking bay, the same one we’d arrived at. Our triangular ship was still sitting there, only now it was turned around and facing the exit. Athena had said the flying process would be automatic, due to our inability to interface with the ship. I wasn’t sure I understood the last part, but the rest seemed clear enough. Keep your hands and arms inside the space jet at all times, kids, and let the crazy computer lady handle the controls.
Before we boarded, I pulled Hitchens to the side. “I need you to stay here with Lex, Doc.”
“Stay? Whatever for, Captain?”
“It’s too dangerous, Hitch. You need to keep Lex safe. If the Sarkonians or the Union get their hands on her, she’s going to wind up dead. This place—I don’t know what the fuck it is or what to even make of it yet—but I can see it’s safer than The Star, much as I hate to admit that.”
“You make a good argument, Captain,” he said. “I’ll do as you ask. Just, please, don’t get yourself killed.”
I nodded, then joined Abigail in the ship. As the doors closed, I could hear Lex outside. She tugged on Hitchen’s sleeve. “Where are they going? Why aren’t they taking us?”
The doors sealed before I could hear the answer.
* * *
After we docked with The Renegade Star, Athena called the ship back to Titan, and I gave Freddie orders to move us out from behind the Moon.
“You understand the plan, right? You move the ship in, once Athena uses her beam on the Sarkonian ships. We target the lead, rescue Bolin and his daughter, then get the hell out of there.”
Freddie nodded. “Right.”