by L. J. Suarez
Just as it finished transmitting the final sequence, a sharp, spear-like object flew straight at its node, cracking the glass in the middle. The spear dropped to the ground, and the drone twisted in every direction to pinpoint where the object had come from. The surrounding area appeared to be clear.
It began to scan the immediately vicinity and picked up multiple life signs moving quickly toward its position. According to its readings, the drone was completely surrounded. Before it could take any kind of evasive action toward the growing threat, several more spears, along with rocks and arrows, began to bombard the drone all at once. Unlike its sentry drone siblings, the scout drone did not have any defensive capabilities. The drone’s shell was taking damage, and one of the many arrows that flew at it landed right in its exhaust port. Sparks and smoke blew out from behind the drone, and it dropped to the ground as its engines failed.
After rolling several times on the rocky surface, it came to halt against a rock wall. Facing upward, the drone lay helpless. Though its link to Empyreum was severed, the drone managed to complete its transmission.
Several humans in dark rags approached the downed drone, each possessing an array of improvised hand weapons. One of the humans stood over the drone with a large axe in hand; he bore a shaved head and a large scar running down his cheek. The human quietly looked down at the drone with disgust in his eyes.
The last thing the drone would ever see before being terminated was the man swinging his axe down onto it.
Chapter 8
Ionne had no idea how long she sat alone inside her private study.
She gazed out through the narrow window as the numerous airships zoomed throughout Empyreum’s towering skyscrapers. On one side of the study, a glass table was lined with rocks and other fossils she had retrieved over years spent excavating the Outlands. Ionne could feel the floor reverberate as her residential unit began to rotate independently, offering her a new view of the Capital’s skyline. Like most of Empyreum’s structures, the building her home was situated in moved in an organic fashion; giving the appearance that it was sentient.
She purposely distracted herself from staring at the portable transmitter sitting on top of the desk before her. No bigger than a standard computer terminal, the transmitter was her only direct line of communication to the humans living within the Gray Zone. It had a simplistic control panel, along with a silver, circular dish above it. Aaron had received the same device before leaving Empyreum, intended to be used only in the case of a catastrophic event in which either race needed to reach out to one another. The incident with the Jafner indeed counted as such an emergency.
Ionne’s hand was sweaty as she reached out to activate the transmitter, then retracted it back. Her heart was beating like a drum.
As she attempted reach out again, the door to her study softly opened. Tamira rushed into her arms.
A warm smile crossed Ionne’s lips as she held her daughter tightly. “Hello, little one. How was school?”
“Today we learned how to split an atom.”
“You did?”
Tamira nodded enthusiastically as she took a few steps back. She held out her hands, and in between them appeared a holographic image of a series of neutrons and a single atom.
Ionne watched as the neutrons propelled themselves straight into the atom, then split it into two halves. The image switched to show the atom being pulled apart and placed back together again. At the age of five, Tamira had an unquenchable thirst for science, which Ionne had seemingly passed on to her. “That is wonderful,” Ionne said. “Well done.”
“You should not be disturbing your mother as she works,” the voice of Ionne’s husband called out. She looked up to see Callam entering the room. His two-piece gray jumpsuit outlined his lean built. Pinned on his breast pocket was the silver emblem of his family’s crest. It resembled a flying racoth, its wings extended outward with stars surrounding it.
“Why don’t you go to your room and play?” he said.
“Okay, Father.” Tamira and Ionne placed their massive foreheads together in an affectionate manner before she hurried out of the room.
“Any luck?” Callam asked, motioning to the transmitter.
“I have not made an attempt. It has been far too long. I do not even know what to say.” Ionne shook her head in frustration.
Callam smirked. “You simply need to stop overthinking and just speak to him. The right words shall come. You always manage to figure these sorts of things out. If not, you would not be the director of the Science Institute and an Inner Council member.”
Ionne sighed. “Perhaps you are right.”
“Of course I am. That is why you married me,” Callam said with a playful grin. “I will leave you to it.” He met foreheads with Ionne and left his there for a loving embrace.
After he left, Ionne was once again alone with her thoughts. She considered herself fortunate that she and Callam had crossed paths. Ionne never thought she would one day be married, let alone have a family of her own. She had dedicated her life to science and to improving the lives of all Monadkind after taking the directorial duties of the Institute. It left little time for anything else. She had accepted her destiny without an ounce of regret.
That changed eight years ago during a biology symposium on the off-world of Zultov. It was there that she met Callam, a botanist hailing from the city of Quton back on Gaia. They both shared an instant connection on every level since day one. She was then given the greatest gift of all: Tamira, who further bound their already strong connection. Now Ionne couldn’t imagine living without them, and wouldn’t change her life for all the treasures the galaxy held.
She turned back to the transmitter and was about to activate the device when an incoming message came through her NI. She pressed the glowing yellow button hovering above her sleeve, and Solmon’s face filled the digital image.
“Ionne,” he said frantically.
She could instantly tell something was wrong. “Councilor Solmon, what is it?”
“We have found the location of the settlement in the Gray Zone. The scout drone that discovered it was destroyed by the humans.”
Ionne was silent after Solmon broke the news. The humans now knew that they have learned the location of their hidden settlement. She had hoped to get to Aaron first and warn him about their attempts to find the settlement. But it was too late. The situation had officially become dire.
Chapter 9
“What the hell were you thinking?” Aaron shouted.
Mace leaned his shoulder against a wooden shelf inside the Committee’s tent as he watched his father reprimand Bishop. His second-in-command stood at attention, not making eye contact with Aaron, whose face hovered close to his. Reed and the other committee members were off to the side with looks of disappointment stitched across their faces.
Bishop and a few guards had discovered a Monad scout drone right at their doorstep, and took it upon themselves to take it out. That clearly didn’t sit well with the Committee leader. Holstered onto Bishop’s back was his axe, the same one he’d used to slay the intruder. Mace admittedly wasn’t at all upset by his actions, despite everyone else in the room feeling differently. After all, the Monads shouldn’t have been sniffing around where they didn’t belong.
“We were trying to prevent the drone from relaying our location…”
“It was not your call to make,” Aaron cut in. “You should have reported back to us the instant you found it.”
“If we did, the drone would have transmitted the coordinates to New Lazarus,” Bishop shot back. “Did little good, though. By the time we got to it, the drone had more than enough time to finish its transmission. We’re exposed.”
Aaron let out a long sigh as he paced around Bishop, his hands clasped behind his back. His body was tensed, fury in his eyes. It had been a long time since Mace had seen his father this fired up.
“After twenty years, this was not the impression I wanted to give of our people. Af
ter seeing what we did to their drone, the Monads probably think we’ve reverted to barbarism. Hell, maybe they even believe we turned the survivors into barbecue by now.” He walked up to Bishop’s face. “You realize how hard it was to build trust between our two races? And you come along and piss all that trust away.”
Bishop let out a long sigh. “With all due respect, it’s they who should be earning our trust.”
“Know your place, Bishop,” Reed warned his son.
Bishop bit his lip as he tempered his frustration.
“He must get his temper from his mother,” Reed said, attempting to lighten the tension in the room.
Aaron said nothing. Instead, he rubbed his chin as he pondered on his thoughts.
“He was just doing his job protecting the settlement,” Mace said.
Aaron turned to meet Mace’s stare. “They weren’t trying to attack us.”
“No, they were spying on us.”
Aaron exhaled slowly. “The Monads were looking for their people, that’s all. Something we would have done if the shoe was on the other foot.” Aaron turned his back away from Bishop and stared into nothing in particular.
“It’s likely the Monads will send troops to New Lazarus to retrieve the passengers,” Sue said. “Now that they know where we are.”
A moment passed, and Aaron turned to Sue. “Which is why we have no other choice but to contact the Monads. I’ll reach out to Ionne, let her know we have the survivors and that they’re safe. Arrange some kind of rendezvous at a mutual location where we can deliver the survivors to them. Hopefully that’ll help smooth things out.”
“How do you propose to reach out to them?” Reed said.
“Leave that to me.” Aaron turned to the rest of the Committee. “We should keep this whole drone situation under wraps for the time being. Last thing we need is a panic. Everybody in agreement?”
“Agreed,” Reed said.
Sue and Alex simply nodded their heads.
Aaron turned to Mace, who continued to eye him disapprovingly.
“This is a really bad idea,” Mace said. “We should just dump them at the crash site as we originally planned and let ‘em get picked up. We don’t need to expose ourselves any further than we already have.”
Aaron lowered his head, his eyes trained on his feet. “Give us a minute.”
With that, Bishop, his guards and the committee members made their way out of the tent.
Once the drape leading into the tent was closed, Aaron said, “What’s gotten into you? Ever since the Monads arrived here, you’ve been on edge.”
Mace locked his twitching eyes with Aaron’s. “What’s got me on edge is how trusting you are of them, especially after everything they put us through and the losses we’ve had since migrating out here. Don’t you find it the least bit odd how their ship crash-landed so close to the settlement, then we catch one of their drones wandering around our own backyard?”
“This isn’t a conspiracy. There’s no evidence of foul play. All I’ve seen is a string of inconvenient coincidences. Nothing more.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Cuz I’ve dealt with Monads longer than you have, kid.”
Mace let out a frustrated breath as he paced the room.
Aaron rubbed his gray beard again. “I know what you’re feeling. Most of the settlers have felt the same way you are now, myself included.” He snickered. “You’re just as stubborn and hot-headed as I was. A bad habit.”
Mace didn’t say anything to that. Instead, his eyes were focused on the ground as he stood across from Aaron.
“I’ve blamed the Monads for a lot of things. But over time I’ve let go of a lot of that anger, and realized that they were not my enemy. Not all of them, anyway. If I didn’t let go of the rage you’re feeling now, it would have been the end of me.”
“What would Mom have thought of all this?” Mace said.
The question visibly caught Aaron off guard. “She would have tried to help these people like I’m trying to do now. All I ask is for you to trust me. I need you on my side.” Aaron stepped over to Mace and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Look at me, Mace.”
Mace met his father’s eyes.
“Are you with me?”
Mace had learned quickly that when Aaron’s mind was made up, there was no way of changing it. Since he was the leader of New Lazarus, he had the final word.
He hated to admit it, but Aaron was right. Maybe his anger toward the Monads was unfounded. However, he would never admit it to Aaron. After all, he was too stubborn to give him the satisfaction.
Mace let out a breath before he reluctantly said, “Yeah.”
Chapter 10
Inside his makeshift hut within the safe confines of New Lazarus, Aaron removed the covers concealing the transmitter.
He waved off the dust particles floating in the air. This was the first time he had seen the device since establishing the settlement. Mace stood outside the door to Aaron’s hut, waiting for his father to make an important call. Aaron fidgeted with the baseball between his hands as he stared at the Monad device for a long moment. Self-doubt was creeping in.
Aaron’s home was quaintly decorated, consisting of a wooden bed to one side and several shelves containing his personal possessions. Mainly items from his previous home in Old Lazarus, and of course his Yankees memorabilia. He smiled warmly at an arrangement of lilies planted inside a small pot on an open window sill.
Aaron had never thought of himself as some great leader. For most of his previous life back in New York centuries ago, in his original form, he had always felt he was wandering through life with no sense of purpose. Yet at the same time, he knew he was meant for something more. He just didn’t think it would mean leading a group of cloned humans and their offspring in a distant future where their direct descendants had replaced them as the dominant species on the planet. Between the events of the Archivist and the Shadow Order, who not only nearly destroyed what remained of the returned human race but enslaved Monadkind, he had quickly discovered what he was meant to be. After the Monads brought him back to life, Aaron was lost. He eventually found where he belonged, and that was with his fellow human brothers and sisters. The settlers of New Lazarus had forged a new life in the Outlands—a simple but meaningful one. They looked to Aaron as the dignitary of their new home, and he didn’t take that responsibility lightly.
Aaron was about to contact someone he hadn’t seen or spoken to for twenty years. He wondered how Ionne would react. Would she be happy to hear from him, or would she frightened? Would she reply at all? It was doubtful she’d be sitting by her transmitter, waiting for his call. By now, Ionne would surely have seen the footage sent from the scout drone of Bishop and his guards attacking it. Perhaps after witnessing the violent act, Ionne would have a different perspective on humans than the one she’d held before.
There was only one way to find out for sure.
Aaron exhaled. “Here goes nothing.” He reached for the control panel and pressed the central button. The device made a power-up buzzing sound, and the circular dish mounted on top of the panel unfolded like a blooming flower. Aaron heard the transmitter making various electric noises inside, possibility attempting to establish a link to Empyreum. Nothing seemed to be happening. Does this thing even work? This would be the first time it had ever been used, after all.
Aaron inched forward in an attempt to adjust the dish when a blue glow suddenly appeared over the panel. He sat back down as he watched the blue light take the form of Ionne’s face. Aaron didn’t know how to react at first, looking upon his old friend’s face.
At first, Ionne shared the same shocked expression on her face. She softened a bit as her lips began to move. “Aaron.” It was the only word she could get out.
“Yeah.” Aaron let out an unexpected chuckle. “It’s me. It’s good to see ya, Ionne. Been a while.”
A hint of a smile formed at the edges of her mouth. “It is good to see you as well. It
has indeed been a long time. Funny enough, I was attempting to communicate with you. It is obvious that you have beaten me to it.”
“It would appear so.”
“I assume the reason for your call is that you know of our drone that has located your settlement.”
It was Aaron’s turn to nod. “I wanted you to know that I did not authorize the attack on your drone. Our guards were spooked by it, that’s all.”
“I understand. I cannot say that I blame them for their reaction. I am sorry for the intrusion. I was opposed to the idea of sending the drone across the Gray Zone. But the Inner Council overruled me.”
“I understand,” Aaron said. “And the survivors are safe, by the way, here at our village. They’ve been treated well. I think they kind of like it here. They especially love our veggie soup. Man, they can’t get enough of that stuff.”
Ionne broke into a full-on smile. “That is good to hear. I had no doubts they were in good hands.”
“I think we should make arrangements to have them delivered to you. At a mutual site.”
“Agreed,” Ionne said.
For the remainder of their conversation, Aaron and Ionne worked out the details of the rendezvous which she would then present to the Inner Council. It amazed Aaron how effortlessly they’d picked things up after not speaking for two decades. He was glad to see that their incredible bond hadn’t been broken, despite the separation and the passage of time.
* * *
The sound of drums echoed in the air throughout New Lazarus’s main courtyard as the afternoon sun slowly set over the mountain peaks hovering beyond the settlement. Ava was enjoying a horalo leg fresh off the grill as she strode through the yard. Nearby, the local children were kicking a ball around. Ava could see the band playing their improvised instruments in the middle of the courtyard in front of the large gathering. Off to the side was a fire pit that had recently been ignited, as the temperature was starting to drop. Most of the settlers were on their feet and dancing to the beat of the drums in an almost hypnotic rhythm. Some of the elders observed the younger settlers dancing the night away with amusement as they puffed on their elongated pipes. It was a joyful vibe that Ava could almost savor. Everyone was both eating and drinking well, or dancing as if this night was their last. Ava recognized the rhythmic tune the band was performing—a rendition of “Jammin” by Bob Marley. The perfect song for nights like this. Her father would play it all the time at their old home in Empyreum. It reminded him of his former childhood before being resurrected into the new world they now inhabited. The song was one of many recreated in Monad computers. The song brought back fond memories of Ava’s own childhood, and sorrow. She spotted Damari and Jarzon sitting on the ground in front of the band with the rest of the other passengers. It was an odd scene, seeing the towering Monads among the rest of the settlers, but there was no doubt the Monads were having a good time.