by SD Tanner
Smiling at Cassie, he patted her hand. “They made a mistake.”
“That’s what the Jarhead said,” she replied in wonder. “How do you know that?”
Crashed into what was once Albuquerque was a ship. It would be the basis of the greatest step change in technology that mankind had ever seen. Inside of the ship were the secrets of the alien technology that allowed them to transform living cells into weapons. Through them, he’d learned that cells were building blocks that could be forced into another controllable form, and he wanted that power.
“They left their ship behind.”
Her face fell slightly. “Oh, I thought you meant that we were the mistake.”
“You mean the human race.”
Nodding, she said shyly, “The Jarhead said there’s not supposed to be so many of us, that we’re too smart.”
The human race had dominated earth so thoroughly that no other species could best them. He supposed if they were meant to be a nursery then they shouldn’t have been so clever. Knowing that they were a mistake was something he might be able to use, but understanding why their species wasn’t what it should be would be a question for his medical team. When they’d finished wasting their time fishing the Navigators out of the field, he would set them off to find an answer. His most pressing concern was how long they had to unravel the alien technology.
Narrowing his eyes, he asked, “Did Steve know he was beaten?”
Suddenly looking anxious, she nodded.
Her answer didn’t surprise him. Survival was a very basic instinct that would be difficult to engineer out of any biological weapon that had once been another living creature. “Do you know what he did about that?”
Her eyes widened even further. “He sent a message.”
“To whom?”
“I don’t know.”
“What did he say?”
She closed her eyes, seeming to fall into a trance. “Hostile force. Harvest compromised. Newborns lost. Assistance required.”
Feeling a spur of excitement, he grinned widely. “So, they’re coming back?”
Opening her eyes again, she nodded.
Now he had a timeframe and this time he would need weapons good enough to defeat their true enemy. Turning away from Cassie, he pushed his way along the busy corridor towards the exit, ignoring the cries of pain and fear around him. Nothing that was happening today was of any interest to him and his mind was already years ahead. They’d only won a skirmish and the main fight was yet to be had. Next time he would be ready. The Navigators were only the first step in what would become a cyborg force to be reckoned with. No one had ever agreed with his ideas, telling him that replacing human eyes with orbs was not acceptable. Now they’d had a taste of what a real enemy could do, he doubted anyone would question his judgment again.
Striding across the worn lawn towards the main building, his mind began to spin with the possibilities that had once been denied, knowing that they wouldn’t be in the future.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO: Council of War (Ark)
While One-of-One and Dayton continued their constant vigil over Lexie, the helicopter was flying fast and low. She hadn’t regained consciousness and he knew she might never. While he’d laid next to her preparing to die, he’d felt the ground above him moving and had known they were coming for them. More than being relieved, he realized that if there was a God then he clearly didn’t want him cluttering up the afterlife. This was the second time he should have died, only to find himself rescued at the last minute. He could only hope that the God he didn’t believe in didn’t want Lexie either.
He’d promised to burn in hell if she was saved and the jury was still out as to whether God would call his bluff. She wasn’t with him yet and he steadied his breathing, hoping to stay calm and not give into his need to hassle the medics. Below him, the dry land was pitted with holes he assumed had once been used by the critters. As far as his human eyes could see, there were black bodies of dead critters. Leon and Tank were sitting on the other side of the helicopter, staring down at the ground, seeming equally as distracted as he was. They’d won the war, yet there remained a wariness in the corner of his mind, and he wasn’t in the mood to celebrate their victory. With the arrival of the ships, it had become apparent that the aliens had yet to show themselves, and he agreed with Boris that they wouldn’t abandon their young.
Flying over the roads leading back to CaliTech, trucks and other vehicles with Navigators sitting on top of them were already making their way home again. Word had spread fast that the critters were down and many were now heading back to what he knew would become the first city of the new world. Closer to the site, survivors were running alongside the trucks, waving their arms and welcoming their returning heroes. He could have asked Bill how many battle teams had survived, but suspected no one would be ready to start planning their defenses so soon after such a decisive win.
When the helicopter landed, a medical team ran across the lawn towards it and Lexie was carried away by a sea of people. No one paid any attention to him, Tank or Leon, and without discussing why, they all walked towards the main building. Unsure why his critter feet led him to Dunk’s office, he found the man sitting at his conference table staring out of the window.
“Dunk?”
Spinning his chair to face them, he waved his hand at the table. “Take a seat, gentlemen.”
While Tank and Leon removed their gear until they were only wearing their sensor suits, he stayed in his lower body hydraulics and wearily sat down.
Dunk fetched water from a small fridge next to his desk. “Good mission?” He asked as he handed them each a bottle.
“Lexie might be dead. The medics are working on her,” he replied flatly, as he took the water from him.
Dunk flicked his head slightly. “They’re the best medical team in the world. If anyone can save her they can.” Nodding solemnly, he added, “She’ll have a priority with them.”
He knew what Dunk had said was true and setting aside his worry, he asked, “What are we all doing here?”
Easing himself into his chair at the head of the table, Dunk replied with a slight smile, “We’re the only ones who get it.”
“Get what?” Leon asked.
“That it’s not over.”
The worry lurking in the corner of his mind shifted to center stage. “They’re coming for their young.” When Dunk nodded, he asked, “How long have we got?”
“We don’t know where the ship came from, how far it travelled or how long it took to get here, but if I were an alien species seeding planets as a nursery then I wouldn’t be too far away.”
It made sense that the aliens would set up the seeded colony somewhere within easy reach. The only question was what they would consider a reasonable distance. If the planet had been seeded long ago, it was fair to assume that their concept of time was very different to their own.
“When was the planet seeded? I mean, was it recent or a million years ago?”
“It couldn’t have been that recent,” Dunk replied. “We’ve been analyzing ancient DNA and we would have seen a step change, so I think we’ve got a little time to get ready.”
“Get ready?” Leon asked. “For what?”
“For when they come back to reclaim us,” Tank replied dourly.
“Exactly,” Dunk exclaimed almost gleefully. “There’s a lot to be done. We are the new council of war and I have some excellent ideas.”
While Dunk began to outline his new plans for the Navigator technology, he felt something crinkle inside of a zip pocket on his sensor suit. Pulling it out, he realized it was the note that Dom had given him before they’d left for their mission to the nest. It felt like a thousand years ago and he opened the letter, curious what last words the man he’d nicknamed Dim might have left for him. Flattening it onto the table and reading the short note, his face split into a wide grin, straining the scars around his mouth.
Dear Ark,
This is not a farewell l
etter.
You’ll win!
See you when you get back.
Dom (not so Dim)
EPILOGUE
When she’d been reborn, the critters and their controllers had been destroyed and the new world was nothing like the one she’d left. One-of-One and her team had cracked the code used by the aliens to transform cells and Dunk had militarized it. After bringing her back from the nest, she’d died so many times that saving her was beyond their medical skills, so they’d placed her into a cryogenics pod. Using her original cells and the alien technology, they’d transformed her body and she’d awoken as a fully functioning Navigator, but that term didn’t mean what it used to.
Walking outside of the main building, the land around CaliTech was now clear of the forest that had once flourished, and instead there were rows of small houses and narrow streets. The road that weaved its way to the main gates of the site was filled with a procession of trucks with old style and next generation Navigators sitting on top of them, waving at the crowds that were cheering them on. It was the fifth annual celebration of the take back of their world, and her third year of being reborn as a next generation Navigator.
Dunk was standing on top of a large podium that looked out onto what was now his city and the capital of their country. After they’d won the war, no one had argued with his demand to become the new President. It was his specialists who had dismantled the crashed ship, learning its secrets and creating the technology that had extended their horizons beyond their wildest dreams. Sitting behind Dunk was their newest invention and it would take its maiden voyage into space within the next month.
The rest of the country had slowly reestablished itself and even the world was finding its feet. With a common enemy, old barriers and prejudices had melted away, and Dunk had called the world to a single plan. The aliens would return, but he was of the view that they should take the stance of an aggressor and attack them first. No one dared to argue with the man who’d saved the world so he got whatever he wanted, no matter how unreasonable.
Striding along the lawn, her newly created arms swung by her side, and she admired the hues of color drifting beneath the surface of her skin.
Seeing Ark walking towards the podium to stand with Dunk, she called, “Ark!”
Turning, a delighted smile spread across his face. Since she’d been reborn, they’d picked up where they’d left off and she again stood by his side. Like her, he was no longer wounded and the medics had transformed the cells in his body to rebuild what he’d lost. Neither of them looked entirely human anymore, but at least she could now see him to know that.
“You’re just in time to join me, hon,” he said as he wound his arm around her slender waist.
She may have woken to a very different world, yet some things remained the same. Ark was the head of the military and he ran it with the same steadiness he always had, but the rest of the world was not the way she’d left it. Dunk’s catch-cry was that they needed to set a thief to catch a thief and to that end, he’d actively stolen everything the aliens had left. Now, they too could transform living things into something they could control. The spaceship to her left had once been a living creature, only now it was transformed into something they could use to hunt down their enemy.
Another next generation Navigator walked past them, giving Ark a respectful nod. Gone were the hydraulics and armor, replaced by bodies of a hardened structure that protected their still human organs. Their eyes were a block color that varied according to their original form, giving them the advanced vision once only available through a visor. Although they each still had male or female body parts, she could no longer bear children, but the Navigators were their army and the women weren’t expected to breed. If she and Ark wanted children, One-of-One would take their combined genetic print and a newborn would be created using the living cells of other creatures.
The two alien newborns they’d found were slowly growing into their adult selves. Dayton had named them Sean and Dean after Stax’s sons. To Dunk, they were merely part of his military arsenal, but to many they remained the enemy. One-of-One always warned them that they might be able to communicate with the aliens, but Jo would not allow them to be mistreated. Having never shown any signs of awareness they appeared to be empty, making her wonder what the aliens did to bring them to life. Kept locked up in an underground bunker, they were always under close watch.
Stepping onto the podium where Dunk was preparing to make his annual speech, she stood next to Leon and Tank, with Ark on the other side of her. Both men had also been modified to become next generation Navigators. Tank was still the largest with massive shoulders and trunk like legs. His face was now a hardened mask and his eyes glowed an odd green. Leon was only slightly smaller with an equally rigidly structured face. With closely shorn haircuts, bulky joints and hardened muscular frames, they looked as dangerous as they were. Ark looked similar, only he’d already lost his legs so his new ones were a cross between human and critter flesh. It meant they were stronger and he could run faster than even she could.
Standing outside of the walls of CaliTech and in front of the statue built to honor those that had died to destroy the nests, hundreds of thousands of people had gathered for the celebration. Out of the five hundred Navigators that had left CaliTech to destroy the nests, only two hundred of them had returned. Ally and Donna were amongst those they’d lost and she still missed them. Donna would have loved the new Navigators; they were faster to train and more capable than the first type.
Dunk stepped forward just as Hood skidded onto the platform. As usual, he was late and Ark shook his head at him. Where Hood was now a next generation Navigator, Alice hadn’t chosen to be changed and he was now a father to four children. According to Alice, she owed him ten, but she didn’t really know why. Between fathering children, leading battle teams and changing nappies, Hood was usually running late for everything.
“Sorry,” Hood muttered, making Tank and Leon snigger while she merely smirked.
“Dunk doesn’t like it when we’re late,” Ark remarked.
“Like I give a shit,” Hood replied dourly.
Where Dunk bullied everyone else, he never bothered the Navigators with his demands. They were his favorite children and becoming a next generation Navigator was now a privilege only granted to those who passed Sally’s strict psychological testing. Being almost as difficult to kill as a critter and able to do things not humanly possible, Dunk knew he was creating an army that could easily overthrow his control. Being manipulative, he kept Ark and One-of-One close and they in turn managed everyone else. Bill and Jo were his administration team, handling the politics of other countries and their own. His empire was growing stronger by the day, and she had no doubt he would aim to conquer space with the same determination with which he’d aimed to rule their planet.
In a loud booming voice worthy of the megalomania that he no longer bothered to hide, Dunk roared, “Welcome to the fifth year of freedom.”
The crowd howled back at him in appreciation. He might be completely crazy, but people trusted his insanity would keep them safe.
Without turning to look, she knew the spaceship would be lifting smoothly from the ground behind her. It was his latest toy and soon it would be manned by the five Navigators standing on the platform, including herself. Glancing at Ark, she gave him a sultry smile. With their changed bodies, the radiation and harsh conditions of space wouldn’t bother them, and they would be the lead battle team taking the first trip off the planet. Excited to leave, she was looking forward to doing something she’d never thought possible. To be able to see was miracle enough, but to be the first to witness what was beyond their solar system was something she couldn’t wait to do.
Looking down while the crowd stared in awe at the hovering ship, she studied the statue in front of the podium. It was of two figures made of bronze. One was of a man wearing the uniform of a soldier and the other was of an old style Navigator. On the wall behind them w
ere the names of every fallen soldier, but at the bottom of the statue were only two, Boris and Jonesy. Whenever anyone dared to question Dunk’s latest demand, he would always point to the statues and assure them that the human race would do anything to remain dominant. By adopting the alien technology they had become the enemy they were fighting, which was why she knew they would win.
People often laid flowers at the foot of the statue, but she suspected they weren’t mourning the names carved at the bottom or on the wall. As she looked across the sea of faces, the world had changed and the crowd was made up of humans and next generation Navigators. One was to continue the species and the other was to defend them.
Now they had regained their dominance of earth, she and her kind would take over the universe.
Also by SD Tanner
Books in NAVIGATOR Series
Book One:
ENEMY LINES (Purchase Now)
Book Two
BLIND SIGHTED (Purchase Now)
Book Three
KILLER EDGE (Purchase Now)
Book Four
BROKEN ARROW (Purchase Now)
Books in Hunter Wars Series
(Series One of The Hunter Wars)
Book One:
EVE OF THE HUNTER WARS (Purchase Now)
Book Two:
HEAVEN MEETS HELL (Purchase Now)
Book Three:
ARMY OF ANGELS (Purchase Now)
Book Four:
GIFT FROM GOD (Purchase Now)
Book Five:
RIGHT TO RULE (Purchase Now)
Book Six:
CALL TO WAR (Purchase Now)
Books in Eden Lost Trilogy
(Series Two of The Hunter Wars)
Book One:
HIDDEN EVIL (Purchase Now)
Book Two
DEAD ALIVE (Purchase Now)
Book Three
DIVINE DEATH
(Release: 2016)
Standalone Books