by J. N. Chaney
I didn’t even feel myself hit the ground before everything faded to black.
9
My comm blasted in my ear, threatening to render me deaf. I groaned and squeezed my eyes shut against the searing light. Gods, why was it so bright?
“V, shut off that damn ringing.”
“Captain, I am unable to comply. That is not your comm, that’s your hearing. I’m afraid you’ve suffered a serious head injury. I understand you are disoriented but I urge you to get up or you will die.”
I came alert then and my eyes sprang open to a carnage filled scene. All five senses came rushing back, overwhelming me. The scarf felt like it was choking me, so I ripped it off. The acrid scent of burning material stung my nostrils and ash found its way into my mouth, turning my saliva foul.
“Captain, you must get up,” Vega said, the volume of her voice much higher than usual.
Boom!
It was thundering. No, that wasn’t right. A war waged in front of me, the booms coming from the exchange of fire between combatants. Partially obscured by a pile of debris, most of the fighting was taking place closer to the mines. I pushed up, wobbled, then found my balance while my memory came back. That’s right, I was in the middle of abducting a government official when hell broke loose.
“Where are Farah and Peralta?”
“Miss Shahi is safe. I convinced her to stay away until I could locate you. She will be wanting to assist. Unfortunately, I lost Senator-Peralta and am unable to pick him up again. Sir, you need to rendezvous with the co-captain. If you remain in the open, death is almost certain.”
Though I hated to fail at the mission, the situation had become too dangerous to be worth the risk. “I’m on my way.”
I almost left too, until something large and white wandered into my field of vision and turned the world upside down. The thing was a hulking beast of a creature. Perfect symmetry shone in the structure of its smooth face, unlined and devoid of any expression. Thick muscles corded all four limbs and the monster towered over me. Horrible green eyes met mine, but it still didn’t react except to flick its wrists.
The movement seemed small and graceful despite the being’s size. I only had a moment to notice that because two blades materialized, as though they were part of the creature’s arms, which it raised into the air.
Done gawking, I lifted the rifle still clipped to my chest and started shooting. I was close enough that even if disorientation factored in, my aim wouldn’t be off by too much. Rounds slapped audibly against the alien’s flesh. I knew that I was hitting it, but the monster acted like they didn’t affect it at all.
Calliope’s words came rushing back to me. There’s something big coming. Bigger than the Union, Sarkonians, and Initiative combined. They’re called Celestials.
Hadn’t Cabbot said the same thing?
Cold fear clutched at my gut and I backed away, targeting areas that should have been vital. It occurred to me that Celestial physiology was in all probability far different than humans. This certainly rang true for the skin, which appeared to be bulletproof. In my haste to get away, I tripped over a rock and landed flat on my butt. The ungraceful move knocked my earpiece out. Not knowing what else to do, I kept firing, this time aiming for the eyes.
The Celestial suddenly flew back, ripped off its feet like a missile had slammed into it, making me think I’d managed to find a weak spot. Then the ground shook and a humanoid machine walked past me. My head came to somewhere in the middle of its thigh and I felt the wind of its passing.
“Holy…” I didn’t finish the sentence because the giant robot lifted one arm as though it were going to punch the Celestial in the face. Instead, the fist dropped away and became a cannon, which effectively rendered the alien—who had been writhing on the ground—still.
“Uh, thanks,” I said, getting to my feet and not really expecting a reply. A quick scan of the ground revealed that my communicator had been destroyed.
“You are quite welcome.”
I held back a yelp but just. Its voice was male but had the latent speech pattern of an artificial intelligence. “What… I mean, who, are you?”
A flat plate made up the face “Sigmond, at your service. I am with the Alliance, tasked with the defense of this mine.”
Both Peralta and escape were now on the backburner. More important things were at stake. “Alyss Cortez. Well, Sigmond, I guess we better get back out there. Any tips? My puny rifle doesn’t have a cannon.”
His reply was genial. “I believe it might be best if you could help others reach safety. Specialized weaponry is required to deal with the Celestials.”
“Sounds like a plan. If you don’t mind, I’ll follow.”
“Of course.”
The robot named Sigmond walked back into the fray and I had the sense his pace was so I could keep up. Not wanting to hold him up, I split off as soon as I could.
A man in Union colors reached down to help a Sarkonian soldier to her feet. She nodded her thanks and together they picked up a large but portable cannon of sorts.
What. The. Hell.
I supposed the claims of an Alliance were true, and this must be the special weaponry the robot talked about.
A fallen mine worker struggled to back away from the battle, but his ankle was turned at an unnatural angle. I surged forward and pulled him up. “We’re going there,” I said, pointing at the building with the least damage. It wasn’t as front and center as the others, which were still taking heavy fire.
“Okay,” he replied, wheezing, but doing his best to limp along with me.
The Alliance had set up a line of defense and was doing a damn good job of holding off the enemy. More familiar ships landed and reams of reinforcements met the threat with a vigor that surprised me. Based on what I was seeing, this was familiar territory for them. I recognized it in the sure way they attacked.
But I had to table that and analyze it later. Right now, helping the wounded was my main priority. After depositing my first injured party to safety, I scanned for the next and caught sight of Sigmond. The robot was suspended in midair, firing his hand cannon like some mech out of the cartoons I’d watched as a child. When he dived into a group of Celestials, I lost sight of him and continued my search for those in need.
Not too far away, maybe 20 meters or so, I saw a small woman with her foot stuck under some wreckage. A fight played out perilously close by, but the Alliance soldiers couldn’t see her because their backs were to her. They danced around, facing off with another of the beast-like aliens. If they kept circling around like that, she’d be in its path of destruction and I didn’t like her odds.
I sprinted for her, sweeping my gaze left and right for more threats. Only when I drew within a few steps of her did I realize it was Calliope. Son of a bitch. Despite what she’d done, I wasn’t going to just leave her there.
Her eyes went wide when she caught sight of me. “Alyss, I…”
“Help me,” I snapped, kneeling down to pull away the refuse that trapped her.
Calliope fell into silence and put her energy into doing what I said. The Celestial was getting closer, too close for comfort, and I threw my weight into the last pieces. It finally moved and the Constable pulled her foot free.
Not wasting any time, I yanked her up and back. She stumbled but regained her footing quickly, and we got clear moments before the Celestial stomped on the area Calliope and I had just vacated. We stopped a little way away from the main fight in a spot that was mostly untouched to catch our breath.
“Thanks,” she said between sucking in gulps of air. “Thought for sure I was finished back there.” When I didn’t answer she turned to look at me.
Prepared for the moment, I punched her in the face.
10
“What the hell?!” Calliope spit out blood.
“That’s for leaving our asses in the wind on Sarkon.”
She chewed on that for a moment before nodding. “Fine, I guess I deserved that. Didn’
t you get the replicators and my file?”
I nodded. “Sure did. That’s all though. Everything else was gone.”
I punched her again.
This time the blood spurted from her nose and she cupped both hands around it to protect against further abuse, which muffled her response. “Again? Seriously?”
“That’s for raiding our shit. Including our blood. That was a little much, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, I do. It’s not like I could stop them.” Calliope wiped more blood from her mouth on the back of one arm and stared at the ongoing battle. “Anyway. Thanks for saving me. I’d say we’re square now, especially after that sucker punch.”
“Oh, we’re less than square,” I told her. “One of the Alliance soldiers told me the Celestials require special weaponry to take them out. I’m focusing on the injured, if you want to help.”
She eyed me with obvious apprehension before giving a little jerk with her shoulder. “Only if you don’t punch me again.”
Despite myself and the situation, I grinned back at her. “No promises.”
The fighting was nearly done. The Alliance beat the Celestials back with what I later learned were pulse cannons. For the next two hours we assisted as many people as we could. Those that were able, joined us. To my disappointment, I didn’t see Sigmond again.
Finally, the last Celestial was dead and all efforts turned to cleanup and triage. Without my scarf, someone was bound to recognize me. I turned to Calliope. “Look, they seem to have things under control. We lost the Senator when the attack hit, so I’m going to head out and regroup.”
She held up a finger and tapped her ear. “Give me Peralta’s current location, if he’s not dead.” After a short silence, the Constable nodded and offered a tentative smile in my direction. “He’s holed up in building C.”
“Not even going to ask how you know,” I replied.
Just then, a flash of movement caught my eye and I spun to greet the approaching figure. I needn’t have worried. It was Farah. She still had her scarf up, but we spent so much time together that I recognized her gait right away.
“You don’t call, you don’t holo. What’s a girl to think?’”
“Sorry. Comm got busted when I tripped.”
My friend arched one purple brow. “And yet survived you flying through the air.”
I shrugged, just as puzzled. “Guess it’ll be one of life’s many mysteries.”
“Who were you talking to a few minutes ago?” Farah peered over my shoulder with mild interest.
“Huh? It’s…” I trailed off because Calliope had gone. Disappeared. “It was Calliope. She must have taken off when you walked over.”
Farah’s forehead creased. “No way. Let’s go find her so I can punch her in the face.”
“Too late,” I said, smirking.
“Oh come on. I always miss the good stuff.”
I laughed. “She told me Peralta is back in his hole. I’ll tell you what happened on the way.”
“First, take this.” She pulled a spare scarf from one of her utility pouches and handed it over. “He’s not going to come with you looking like that. Might as well announce you’re with the rebellion.”
Back in building C, Peralta was having none of coming with us.
“Come with you? I think not. Last time I nearly died.”
I held back a sigh. “Sir, it’s perfectly safe. The threat has been dealt with. However, another may be on its way.”
“Reyes, you are being exceedingly nonchalant for someone about to get reprimanded by the most powerful man in the Empire.”
“Oh, I don’t think the Emperor will bother with a nobody like me,” I said, schooling my features into easy lines.”
He didn’t contradict me and just sniffed. The man should have known better than to throw those kinds of words around anyway.
I tried once more. “Sir, are you aware there is a Constable on Prosperitas?”
Peralta stiffened at the question. “No, I was not.”
“Well, I don’t know her business, Senator, but it can’t be good news. The Vice-Admiral wants you off this planet and back on Xanderis. I think it’s best to oblige him. For all you know the Constable is here to get information from you, by any means necessary.”
“By gods, do you mean torture?”
“It’s hard to say as I’m not acquainted with the individual.”
The Senator blanched but got to his feet. “Right, of course. You’re certain I can’t bring anything?”
I tried not to roll my eyes. “I’m sure.”
“All right, then.”
This time we made it to the path sans the bombs and terrifying aliens. Peralta, of course, complained the whole way.
“Why is your shuttle so far away?” he demanded.
Just a little longer, I told myself.
Seeing my annoyance, Farah took the question. “Because, Senator, this is a warzone. It would be extremely difficult to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.”
“I suppose that makes sense,” he said, relenting. “Still. It’s not right that I have to walk so far. Don’t you have any water?”
Whirling around, I was ready to put him down, but Farah stopped me. “We’re here.”
Senator-Peralta turned in a slow circle. “All I see is a bunch of rocks, not your ship. Is it cloaked?”
“Kind of,” I said, curling my lip.
Farah walked over to a couple of good-sized boulders where we had stashed the jump rigs. “We’re going to suit up with these and board the ship that way.”
“Oh no,” he said, backing away. “This wasn’t part of the plan. I’m not trained on jump rigs.”
I clapped him on the shoulder and shoved a helmet into his hands. “Lucky for you, we’re doing the flying today. You’re just along for the ride. Sir.”
“No, I’m drawing the line here. Your performance has been less than stellar and I refuse to go with you. Kaska will have to understand.”
“The Vice-Admiral-Scum isn’t going to understand anything,” I said, pulling off the scarf. “And I’m afraid you don’t have a choice, Dick.”
The look on his face was priceless. Peralta tried to run away, but Farah was ready for him. One well aimed tranquilizer arrow later and he was on the ground.
It took some maneuvering, but we got the Senator strapped into a towing rig and up to the Genesis without any further issues.
Mack met us and helped get him cuffed to a chair, where he would stay until he woke up, under constant surveillance.”
“Where’s Jax?” Farah asked when we took our places on the bridge.
Vega already had orders to take us away from White Cross and head in the general direction of Xanderis.
“Jax is in the training room,” the AI supplied. “Shall I summon him?”
“No, that’s okay. Just wondered what my brother was up to while all the killing was happening.”
“To quote, ‘they have things under control. I’ll intervene if they might lose the target,’” Vega said, her voice changing to a recording of Jax.
I gave her a sidelong glance, a little surprised at the note of hostility in her tone. “You okay?”
“Yeah, sorry. I love the guy, but it’s a little hard to deal with this… reconnection sometimes. It’s weird. It’s like he’s still Jax, still my brother, most of the time. Other times, I look at him and see a complete stranger.”
“That’s understandable,” I told her. “He’s been gone for years. It makes total sense that he would have changed. Are you the same person he remembers?”
She stared at me for a long moment. “That is the wisest thing you’ve ever said.”
I smiled widely at her. “I’m going to remind you of that the next time you’re harping at me for downing too many enerdrinks or something.”
That made Farah roll her eyes, but the tense moment had passed and we both fell into an easy silence.
Until we hit open space.
There, the wake of de
struction from the Celestials told a clear story. Whatever happened before the Alliance showed up had been a massacre. This close to Prosperitas, I saw more than a few disabled cruisers. The rest, a considerable amount, Vega and Mack mapped on the holo so we could avoid running into them.
“Crap, check out the size of that carrier,” Farah murmured.
She wasn’t exaggerating. Apart from the debris, intact and operable ships were cleaning things up and, from the looks of things, looking for survivors. The ship in question was a Union warship and it was huge. I could have parked thousands of Second Genesis’ inside it and not filled the beast up.
A few months ago, that would have scared the daylights out of me. Now, knowing about the Celestials and Alliance, I was happy to know it was on our side. Humanity’s side. I thought back to Sigmond and the huge robot body he commanded. Were there more like him? I sure as hell hoped so.
I ordered the cloak to stay up so as not to draw unwanted attention and we were soon in the first slip tunnel.
Deciding now was as good a time as ever, I unbuckled from the safety harness. “I guess we better go get the Senator up.”
In the brig, Farah administered an injection that would wake him up. As he came to, I watched and remembered. Not too long ago I’d been on the other end of this scenario. First when my commanding officer locked me in, and later when Vice-Admiral-Kaska questioned me over her attempted court-martial of me.
“What the hell?” Peralta pulled at his restraints. “What is this?!”
Ignoring all thoughts besides the here and now, I focused on the man in front of me. Regardless of the Celestial’s disruption, we’d gotten our man. Now it was time to find out what he knew.
I leaned forward. “You know what this is. You know who we are, don’t you, Dick?”
Peralta stared at me with hate filled eyes. You’re Delgado. The Solaris Initiative.”
Farah nodded. “That’s right. And we need information. Information only you have.”