Renegade Alliance

by J. N. Chaney

  “Is that true, Lex?” I asked. “You feel okay?”

  She nodded. “I’m fine.”

  I watched Lex for a moment and saw Abigail give her another once over. The doctor was right. Lex looked perfectly healthy, if a little curious, but there was no sign of discomfort. Certainly nothing like what had happened to me when I tried wearing the cuff. “What are you saying?” I asked.

  Dressler shrugged. “I don’t know. I could run some tests.”

  Abigail’s grip tightened on Lex. “Absolutely not. She’s too young for that kind of thing.”

  “If she reacts to the Celestial tech differently, it might be a good idea to find out why,” Alphonse said.

  Lex pulled away from Abigail and looked up at her. “Please, Abby? I want to help.”

  Abigail looked at me. “What do you think, Jace?”

  “It might be okay,” I said. “If Dressler monitors her, then I think I’m alright with it.”

  “I will not allow her to come to any harm, I assure you,” said Dressler.

  “That square with you, Abby?” I asked.

  “I suppose,” she said. “MaryAnn, I trust you’ll watch her closely?”

  “Of course,” the doctor replied.

  “You know Dr. Dressler won’t let anything happen,” Alphonse said.

  “Yes, you’re right,” Abigail replied. “I just worry after what happened to Jace and how sick it made him. Maybe Octavia can—”

  Before she could finish the sentence, Sigmond and Carl appeared in the lab. We were all so used to it by now that it barely startled any of us.

  “I apologize for the interruption,” said Sigmond, giving one of his little bows.

  “What is it, Siggy?” I asked, trying not to sound agitated at the interruption.

  “Sir, we have reached Novo.”

  Because of Tartarus’ size, Carl advised that we halt our advance a fair distance away from the planet. He explained that getting too close could have adverse effects on the orbits of Novo’s planetary bodies, given the sheer size of our ship. I didn’t fully understand the science behind it all, but I heeded his warning all the same.

  “Talk about overly cautious,” I said, completing a last check of my exosuit in the dropship taking us to Novo.

  At least a half dozen pairs of eyes turned to look at me, disbelief plain on their faces.

  “What?” I asked defensively.

  Abigail snorted. “Are you serious, Jace? Do I need to remind you of Proxi Beta, Taurus, or Z-28K?”

  “And Glacio,” Freddie added.

  Rackham glanced at me. “Countless Union fleet ships.”

  “Priscilla,” chimed in Dressler.

  Petra held up her artificial arm and waved it around.

  “That wasn’t me,” I said. “That trilobite came out of nowhere—”

  “Sorry, Captain,” interrupted Alphonse, the only one who’d stayed silent up to this point. “But trouble does seem to follow wherever you go.”

  “I guess I just like the attention,” I said, giving the Constable a half-smile. “And I don’t see any of you getting off this ride. You gonna join in on their dog pile, Siggy?”

  The suit of mobile armor that stood at the empty side of the drop ship rotated its head until the flat plate of its face looked at me. “I wouldn’t dream of it, sir,” said Sigmond. “I, for one, enjoy your company.”

  It had been the Cognitive’s idea to bring one of the suits in case the defense system decided to activate once we were planetside. So far, Carl’s scans hadn’t detected any hostile movement. No activity whatsoever, in fact. But, as we all knew, that could change in a single instant.

  “Thanks, Siggy. At least someone’s got my back.”

  A wall mounted holo display flashed and emitted a beep, interrupting further conversation.

  “Preparing for final descent,” announced Carl, using the drop ship’s comm system.

  “Alright, everyone, you know the drill. Helmets on until we know for sure that the air’s safe to breathe,” I ordered.

  “Word of advice,” said Alphonse once everyone was properly sealed. “These aren’t like regular ships. Reentry through atmosphere can get pretty rough. We’re bound to get a little rattled during our descent.”

  “Thanks for the warning,” I said, getting a solid grip on my harness.

  It didn’t take long to find out what he meant. The little dropship quaked violently and if not for the harness, I might have found myself on the floor. The turbulence didn’t let up as we continued, either. It took all the strength I had to lift my head and check on Abigail. She had her feet squared and her back pressed to the wall.

  My next thought was to check on Freddie, who usually had a tougher time in situations like this. “You okay, Fred?” I asked.

  “We’re okay,” he answered, referring to both him and Petra, who sat beside him.

  Rackham looked bored, as though this was just an average night for him. Alphonse, likewise, appeared relatively at ease. Both men had probably done this on several occasions during their service to the Union. Although the former Constable sat a little too close to Dr. Dressler than was strictly necessary.

  I spent the rest of our drop focusing on myself and trying to keep my lunch down. The turbulence was more than I was used to, but it also didn’t last as long as I thought it would. Before the experience had time to wear on me, we were on the ground.

  Our destination was the remains of the colony. Carl had scanned for hostile forces and found none. No drones or automated defense systems to speak of. The planet matched the holo display that the Celestial Cognitive had first showed me days ago—Earthlike, but more than double the size and covered in lush forests and jungles. Nearly 85% water, its oceans dwarfed ours by a wide margin.

  I walked slowly down the ramp, doing my best not to stumble and wanting desperately to rip my helmet off to drag in a lungful of fresh air.

  “It’s tough the first time out,” Alphonse told us over the open frequency. “The disorientation should pass soon.”

  “Siggy,” I said hoarsely, so only he could hear me. “Let me know if the air is clean.”

  “Working. Yes, sir. I detect no toxins or adverse compounds anywhere,” he said. “Scans show the air has been fully terraformed, likely during the colonization.”

  I unlatched my helmet and took in a breath of fresh air. “Ah, that’s better.”

  All around me, Alliance soldiers were doing the same, even Major Sanchez. Only Alphonse and Rackham kept theirs on.

  Casting a glance upward showed me that the sky didn’t look much different from the view back home. Lots of blue and a scattering of puffy clouds could have been a scene from anywhere in Verdun.

  “Five minutes to get your bearings, then we’re moving out,” said Rackham.

  “Wow,” said Abigail, coming to stand next to me. She stared behind me, her eyes wide with intrigue.

  I turned to see what she was looking at. As I did, I was met by a sweeping landscape of lush green, with touches of bright colors sprinkled throughout. My initial reaction was that it must be trees or a valley, but as I let the moment settle, I realized quickly that I was looking at the colony itself. There were buildings here, aged and overtaken by nature.

  The graceful structure broke up the skyline, reminding me of the empty silver city in Earth’s core. The planet had begun to reclaim the land and only select pieces of the architecture still gleamed in the sunlight. Besides the vines and layers of moss, I was somewhat surprised at how clean it all still was. I had anticipated some ruins, maybe several discarded vehicles, and possibly even a few mummified bodies buried deep inside one of these buildings. But now that I was here and looking at this place, I wondered if we’d find anything in there at all…or if all of the useful stuff had already been lost to time.

  I, along with my team, Rackham, and Sanchez, walked the empty streets toward our main target, a larger building in the center of the colony. More than two dozen Alliance soldiers joined us to clear
the area. Sigmond walked alongside me, imposing as he appeared in the large metallic suit. I figured even if he didn’t have to deal with a defense system, he might be able to practice his movements down here without putting Tartarus at risk.

  Unlike other Eternal installations we’d encountered, this facility wasn’t buried discreetly inside a mountain. It was, rather, set squarely in the center of a wide open valley.

  “Carl, can you refresh us on what happened to the people here?” I asked as we moved past an old street that had now been blanketed in green and nothing else. “It’s damn quiet.”

  “Records indicate the people simply died out,” he replied in my ear on the open channel.

  “How long ago?” asked Major Sanchez.

  “Around 1800 years ago, approximately,” the Celestial replied. “Due to the size of the colony and failure to cure their genetic plague, the Celestials did not come.

  I surveyed the quiet surroundings and shook my head. “You sure the Celestials didn’t hit this place? Don’t seem right to me that this is all there is down here.”

  “All data confirms that the colony was considered useless,” Carl said. “The Celestials did not consider it worthy of their attention.”

  “Looks strange,” Rackham commented.

  “The architecture is unlike the other colonies we’ve encountered,” Freddie said from behind us. “I would expect to see vehicles here, but the streets are empty. It will be interesting to investigate this more in-depth, perhaps after the war is over and we have time to send a long term excavation team.”

  I pointed at the buildings. “I’m sure more than a few of those are living quarters. Could be they moved everything inside near the end.”

  Abigail grimaced. “If they truly did die off from a disease, then it stands to reason the last remaining survivors would have taken refuge indoors to live out their remaining days. I wonder how many actually survived the illness or if they all got sick in the end.”

  “I ain’t much worried about the dead,” I pointed out. “We need to find some place to set up a temporary Alliance base and start looking for the core and something to help us with Athena, if anything like that even exists.”

  “Then I suppose we’ll have to get inside the facility,” Abigail said. “Sigmond, are you picking anything up?”

  “Only low level power. The core is still active, but likely in hibernation mode,” the Cognitive answered.

  As our group drew nearer, we proceeded with caution. For whatever reason, no defense system triggered, and we made it to the main entryway without issue. Rackham ordered a small team to stand watch outside, along with Sigmond.

  The doors slid open as we approached, a small light blinking above them to indicate what I assumed must have been a sensor. My tattoos lit up as well, which made sense given what I knew about these machines.

  “I’m surprised those still work,” commented Freddie.

  “It is certainly unexpected,” said Dressler.

  Eternal technology was extremely resilient, but it was definitely strange that the doors opened so effortlessly, given the excess weeds and overgrowth surrounding the building. Oh well. I’d chalk that up to coincidence. Maybe we were simply looking at some kind of self-cleaning construction work. Hell if I knew.

  Inside, automatic lighting eased on to show a reception area, spotless but not empty. Here, we found the first signs of a past life. Furniture and decor adorned the room, but it wasn’t worn or aged the way the outside buildings had been. Rather, it seemed almost new, the pristine fabric of the chairs appearing clean and untouched, almost sterile.

  “It’s eerie,” Abigail said under her breath. “Feels like everything is brand new. I wasn’t expecting this.”

  I knew what she meant. We’d been to Eternal colonies before, but this was something else. “Let’s keep moving,” I instructed.

  We split up into three teams and began a search of the building. I kept waiting to find people because each section we cleared looked like the front lobby. Doors opened and the lights came on in every available area. We spent the next few hours combing the corridors and rooms, looking for anything that could lead us to the core, but each area was just as empty as the last. That was, until Sanchez and Rackham’s team encountered the first real barrier at the end of a long hallway.

  After he called me to join them, I hurried to get from one side of the floor to the other. They were standing in front of a set of double doors, the lights in this area half-dimmed, providing a stark contrast to the rest of the facility so far. Sanchez offered a nod in greeting when he saw me, which I returned. “This wing is locked,” he told me. “Can’t get inside.”

  “Even to an Eternal?” I asked.

  So far, the only barrier that required my tattoos to open had been the outer door, but it still stood to reason that they’d have an effect here as well.

  The major nodded and gestured at a soldier from Karin’s trainees. “It won’t open, Captain,” the man said. To demonstrate, he stepped forward and tapped a touch pad to the right of the entrance. A light blinked red and the pad emitted a long beep, the universal call sign for access denied.

  I moved to the plate and mimicked the soldier’s motion.

  Nothing happened.

  “Let’s just breach it,” Rackham suggested.

  “I wouldn’t,” Dressler advised as she appeared from around the corner to my rear.

  We all turned to stare at her. “Why not?” I asked.

  “Every other section has had open access. If this is locked, there’s a good chance whatever is inside needs protecting,” she explained. “Better to wait and make sure whatever’s behind it doesn’t get us killed.”

  “She has a point,” Rackham said.

  “It’s getting late,” I said, glancing at the time. I’d been going for nearly 20 hours straight, so I could only imagine how tired the rest of the team was. “We can keep searching in shifts, but it might be smart to have some of us rest in the meantime.”

  “You want to camp inside or outside?” asked Sanchez. A few of the cleared rooms had featured a collection of bunks, likely built for large groups. My money was on security personnel. It would make sense to have everyone sleep indoors, but I wasn’t ready for that.

  “We’ll set up outside for the time being. We don’t know enough about this place to drop our guard.” I paused. “Plus, it gives me the creeps.”

  “Smart call,” Rackham said. “Let’s get the rest of our people down here and make camp.”

  “You heard the man, Siggy. Tell Dressler and Al we’re ready for them,” I said on the comm.

  “Right away, sir,” replied the Cognitive.

  I’d already given Octavia and Shaw explicit instructions to watch Lex in my and Abigail’s absence. With Novo clear of any threats, I thought it best if she stayed with us. In light of recent events, I didn’t want the kid on Tartarus without someone from my crew that I could trust. Abigail agreed that keeping Lex close was the only way to be sure she didn’t wander into danger. Again.

  Lex bounced off the dropship in her usual fashion and I watched in wonderment. The ride clearly hadn’t had the same negative effect on the kid as it had on me and most of the others. It seemed to me that every passing day I woke up with something else aching if I slept wrong. Then you had Lex, who probably considered the whole affair some grand adventure.

  Catching sight of me and Abigail, she gave a small whoop and dashed over. “Mr. Hughes, Abby! Octavia says we’re camping.”

  “Sure are, Lex,” said Abigail, giving the girl a wide smile and leaning down to hug her.

  “Why don’t you give me a hand,” I suggested. “Lots of things need doing before we can go to sleep.”

  Her face fell for a moment at the mention of sleep. “But it’s not even dark yet.”

  “It will be soon enough,” I told her. “How about this: if we get done before sunset, I’ll give you two of my rock candies.”

  “Okay, Mr. Hughes,” Lex said, brightenin
g at the prospect. “You’re on!”

  She took off at a run and tripped over a rock. It sent her sprawling to the ground, where she hit her hands and knees. Abigail made it to her first and helped her sit up. A gash had opened up on her left kneecap, deep enough to have blood streaming down her shin and onto the ground. I thought she might cry, but Lex just looked down with a kind of fascination.

  “You okay, kid?” I asked upon reaching her.

  “I’m alright, Mr. Hughes.” The girl sounded a little sheepish but otherwise fine as she dusted herself off.

  “I still want Octavia to look at it,” Abigail said, her tone leaving no room for argument.

  Lex gave me a pouty look. “Will I still get candy?”

  I chuckled and tousled her hair again. “Sure, Lex. No more running though, okay?”

  She bobbed her head and walked off with Abigail to get her knee looked at, though I suspected there wouldn’t be much for the medic to do.

  8

  “Sir, you need to wake up.”

  Sigmond’s voice cut into the dream I’d been enjoying.

  “Go away, Siggy,” I grumbled, half asleep. Abigail stirred beside me and made a murmuring noise.

  “It’s Lex, sir.”

  I jerked into a sitting position, shedding the sleep haze in an instant. “Now what?”

  “She left ten minutes ago and has not returned,” he explained. “I assumed she needed to use the facilities, but I can no longer detect her in the immediate area.”

  “Son of a bitch. Why can’t she stay put?” I rolled out of the double cot and found my boots in the dark. “Long enough for me to get some sleep, at least.”

  The noise roused Abigail and she came alert. “Jace? Is something happening?”

  “Just the kid wandered off. Sigmond said she’s been gone ten minutes now. Probably using the bathroom, but we better go check.”

  Abigail yawned. “If she keeps this up, we’re going to have to fit her with a tracker.” She sounded like she was only half joking and I was apt to agree.