The Andromeda Project (The Cluster Chronicles Book 1)

by Jason Michael Primrose

  She reached the locked door to the lab. It wasn’t the sneakiest tactic but she aimed the energy weapon at it and in one shot the blast shattered the middle, sending debris into the room.

  The main area was empty, alien tech machinery hummed and the screens had screen savers. She walked toward the central computer with her weapon still raised, did one more sweep with her eyes and her mind, then placed it on the desk to type with both hands. The monitor responded prompting the potential user for password entry. “Neight” was denied, a poor assumption on her part. Her fingernails tapped against the desk. Light seeping from underneath an open door invaded her peripheral.

  With her back against the wall, Florence pushed it open with the psiborg leg, shifting her weapon from side to side. The raw hem of her trench glided behind her as she moved throughout the room with her famous panther’s stealth, blending into dark corners and shadows. The raw power she sensed was intoxicating, infinite cosmic energy stared at her through the twenty-foot tall containment center. Using her limited knowledge of the algorithm, Florence reconfigured the power levels to medium, and stood back. Her eyes darted, scanning for whatever or whomever she sensed.

  “It’s done,” Florence said into the watch. “Moving on to locating Private Adams. Then we’re even.”

  “I need one more thing.” The message read.

  Her powers shorted out suddenly. Someone spoke, “Yes. Did you forget about dampeners?”

  Rabia.

  “What are you doing here, Dr. Belladonna?” He asked.

  “I’m here to make sure you don’t betray the US government.”

  The weapon flew out of her hand. She hit the ground bewildered but not out of commission, unable to identify her assailant due to the fogginess in her brain.

  He grabbed her from behind by the hair. A sweep kick knocked her foe down but no body touched the metal, she scrambled away and retrieved the gun. A cyclone of thick black mist circled her menacingly, breathing became as difficult as achieving limited access to her telepathy.

  “I don’t have a choice but to kill you,” Florence screamed over the whirling noise.

  “Not if I kill you first,” Rabia replied. She stumbled around the eye of the miniature storm, firing a few blasts into the air. Chunks of the smothering cloud whooshed away but found their way back, it was impossible to harm a swarm of molecular particles.

  “You don’t even know why you choose to fight.” His voice echoed as she crumbled to the floor. “A sad attempt to atone for family crimes. My original offer still stands, you can change sides…for more altruistic goal.”

  Anger welled inside of her, remembering her conversation with Brandt about joining C20. Everyone had a boss.

  When Rabia thought she was weak enough, the mist spiraled down the center toward her vulnerable mind. A tiny red psionic barrier blocked his attempted bodily invasion, she expanded it above her, scattering the mist to either side. Florence ran towards the exit using her free hand to close the door behind her. The mist followed like a swarm of wasps but slammed against it, then swirled under and over it simultaneously.

  The ceiling moved. “I don’t mind killing you in front of audience.” His voice was accompanied by jagged metal spikes. But they were outside of the lab.

  “Trust me.” She jumped out of their way. “There will be no killing and certainly no audience.”

  Florence outstretched her hands as her leg lit up like a Christmas tree. She weaved through Rabia’s mind eliminating all traces of herself, her work and her powers. She moved on to Russell, Leesa, then Bridget, Dorian and finally, Nicolas. Rabia lay comatose in the middle of the hallway.

  “My God…what is happening…” Her access to Rabia’s mind foretold not only their grim future but provided a window into his previously unknown origins.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Rise of Humanity

  ANDROMEDA PROJECT MAIN HQ

  Washington, DC, May 2026

  “I’m leaving.” Russell’s flat tone unsettled Bridget. It wasn’t a discussion, but a declaration. Her prescription ended a week ago. Instability stood on the edge of a crumbling cliff.

  “You have some fucking nerve,” she said to him, with the box in her other hand.

  “That’s all I wanted to tell you,” he said without looking up. Russell prepared to move systems and integrate with C20. It was something he needed to do but wasn’t sure where the command stemmed from.

  “Should’ve known you were stringing me along…” She touched the computer. The screen went out. Passive aggression was all she knew.

  “I’ve been working on that for seventeen hours!” He pounded his fist and stood against her.

  They stared into each other’s eyes. She didn’t see the same fire from before. No passion. No motivation behind his actions.

  “What did he do to you?” Electricity surged through her hands. There wasn’t an answer. Her pupils brightened. At any moment a storm would erase all of the work he’d accomplished. Bridget let the attack subside within her and shoved the box into his hands. She headed back to the entrance, knowing her brief attempt at happiness was over. A moment of clarity came over Russell as he stared at the glistening sapphire ring; “I don’t have a choice,” were his final words.

  “Goodbye, Russell.”

  The electricity left with her, thwarting his efforts to transfer the data. Passive aggression was all she knew. Unusual silence amplified the darkness.

  Rumors spread like an epidemic about the fall of the Andromeda Project. Without a commanding officer, soldiers scrambled to gather their things and evacuate. The vault became unguarded. Clicking boots rounded the corner and reached the keypad to the towering prison. Her Cynque watch activated the lock mechanism.

  “Come with me,” Florence said, as the steel door swung open.

  Allister raced out and picked her up by the collar. “What are you doing here?”

  She remembered her promise to Dolores and felt guilty about the motive behind his rescue. The US government wanted him freed and they always paid in cash.

  “If it means anything, you’re the only person on this base who remembers who I am. You…you’ve dealt with a lot of loss this last month and I’m sure my disappearance didn’t help.”

  Her feet hit the floor.

  “I can’t go with you until I find Leesa. She was supposed to come back and get me…”

  Florence grabbed his arm as he walked past. “I don’t think you understand. This place is going down…”

  His muscles flexed resisting her touch, steady eyes pierced the air in front of him.

  “I know you don’t want to be anyone’s property…I promise if you come with me, I can help you find a positive way to use your gifts.” She’d get a bonus if he worked for them too.

  “I have to find her…save yourself. It’s what you’re best at.”

  His words were impactful but there was little time for reflection.

  “Status?” The message said.

  Florence forcefully removed the watch and let it hit the concrete next to her feet.

  Leesa’s mind ran on a full tank, Zosma had reconnected and slowly rebuilt parts of her psyche. They woke up strapped to the operating table. Straps whipped away. She levitated still flat on her back and then rotated by her own will to fly upright. Leesa wrestled controlled of physical actions.

  “I hope we can control this,” she said to the living energy creature, and then shot upwards crashing through the ceiling. The soon-to-be battleground was bathed in the bright light of afternoon sun. Civilians ran screaming at her arrival to the outdoors, as soldiers lined up and fired at her. The telekinetic force field, bright blue instead of the clear color, protected her. They fear me… she thought, remembering what someone once said to her about the “outside world.”

  Zosma’s anger at being captured and mistreated superseded Leesa’s reasoning skills. She felt her influence slipping and a telekinetic wave overturned cars, soldiers, and blew out building infrastructures. Innocent
people’s homes and businesses on the giant compound were damaged as well.

  “We need reinforcements!” one of the men huddled beneath the doorway yelled. Jets and tanks became occupied with skilled fighters after an announcement of the threat.

  Rabia couldn’t access the containment center to turn Leesa off, and login to his main computer failed.

  “I’m not one to hang around and gloat after a victory but,” Florence’s unrecognizable voice whispered in his ear, “Your game is up.”

  He spun around, tormented by the new setback, but nothing was there.

  RUSSELL ASHUR

  Washington, DC, May 2026

  Russell ran through the facility with his ears covered. Overhead noise from the sirens mixed with soldiers shouting and pounding the pavement on their way to the brewing battle outside.

  “Stand down Private Sparks,” he overheard a soldier say in between shots. Lights flickered and he slowed pace. The speaking individual landed on his back, smoke rising from his charred body. Russell retrieved the loaded weapon to enter the dim area.

  Bodies rested among small fires and a dense layer of smoke stormed his lungs. Russell coughed into his sleeve, then ducked at the faint crackle of electricity as a bolt whizzed over his head and exploded against the opposite wall. He turned to see Bridget examining her charged hands while leaned against an emergency exit.

  “I wasn’t expecting you to show your face,” she said, and rocked her body out of the position, “But I’m glad you came.” Her medicine had fully cycled out of her system. Aggression was all she knew.

  An electric field came up in between them and the blast from his device backfired. He dove to avoid it. Bridget stroked her hand up a column; the electricity generated flowed down her finger and along her arm to the other side. He fired two more times, she jumped to avoid one then spun backwards with both legs out to avoid the other. The bolt in her hand rushed at him, Russell’s only form of protection blew up. He fell backwards.

  “No man who’s ever hurt me has lived…” Bridget said standing over him. Her tormented face lit up from the full extent of her power darting between her fingertips.

  Russell felt death but didn’t feel anything about it.

  “Bridget!” Allister yelled. “He’s not worth it. We need to get out of here.”

  Dorian took her by the jacket and dragged her away while pummeling the advancing infantry with sonic blasts.

  “Get to the hangar and get as far away as you can. I’m going after Leesa.”

  “Why don’t you let the bird die. She’s done nothing for any of us…”

  “I didn’t ask for your input,” Allister screamed at the top of his lungs. They were in each other’s faces, two broken hearts adding blood to their confused brains, fueling their jumbled emotions. His hair reacted to the proximity of her powerful charge, then he calmed down and apologized. “I don’t want anything to happen to you. She’s dangerous…go.”

  The transporter gem’s blinding angelic light surrounded his legs, pulsed up his torso and enveloped his upper body. Bridget and Dorian were forced to cover their eyes as the white shape changed from Allister’s body into a stream of energy zooming into battle.

  “Let’s go,” Bridget said to Dorian.

  LEESA DELEMAR

  Washington, DC, May 2026

  “You will pay for what you have done to me.” Another hand gesture triggered a telekinetic vortex. It swirled outwards along the ground sending debris, equipment and weapons upwards. Zosma’s influence was strong and Leesa channeled more of the energy than the machine even registered. She spoke with two voices, stopping the battle momentarily with her increasingly powerful presence.

  Allister arrived, knocking oncoming tanks out of fleeing civilians’ way. He wished he’d asked Bridget and Dorian for help. A building crumbled killing hundreds and trapping dozens of people. Fighter jets approached the lieutenant’s position in the sky.

  “We’ve got the target locked in position,” a pilot said, pivoting the plane’s direction.

  “Leesa!” he yelled, “Get a handle on this. Look at what you’re doing!”

  Humanity returned for a moment. Gunshots erupted from the aircraft, pelting against the protective field. Planes continued past her while shooting and turned around in formation to fire missiles. Leesa saw them, barely moved her hand and the blue energy took the missiles apart midair. The pieces passed around her uselessly then reconfigured on the other side, directed at the base. Geysers of dirt and smoke erupted where one of the missiles landed, the other detonated near the hangar. A bolt of electricity zoomed through the enemy jet’s engine and it spiraled out of control, crashing next to Allister. He held his arms up to block the flames, then rescued the pilot.

  “Dorian made us come back,” Bridget yelled with a smirk. She swung her other arm around, an electric wave splattered a row of soldiers against the building.

  Allister didn’t care if she only came back to teach the soldiers a lesson, at least he wasn’t fighting alone. He deflected a round of gunfire from a tank. Dorian’s open hands pumped multiple bursts of sound energy, disabling the man-operated weapon. He heard screams from beneath the collapsed building and set out on a rescue mission, using sonic blasts to knock the rubble away. Dorian dodged an assault and retaliated against the cannon firing at him. Another blast overpowered his counterattack, knocking him out.

  Leesa slipped from her position in the sky as blue energy faded; one of the attacking planes landed gunfire and she plummeted. Internal struggle made movement in the physical world impossible.

  The original canyon separating Zosma and Leesa’s minds was so close there wasn’t space to fall through. Where separated before, their memories, feelings and thoughts crossed over with ease. Astral forms faced off; one aggressive and one docile.

  “My power is not to be contained by mortals,” Zosma said to her.

  “Let me help you control this…I’ve been wrestling with it for the entire time you’ve been asleep,” Leesa countered.

  “The insignificant portion of my access you attempted to control and use is pathetic, like this planet and its people. I can and I will wipe this rock from existence, once I eliminate what is holding me back. You,” she said menacingly.

  “I can’t excuse what humanity did, but your father was protecting you and the rest of the universe,” Leesa pleaded. “I know all of your memories and you know mine. Neight thought we could work together, but if you’re not willing then you’re as destructive and power hungry as he feared. He died for you; he lost his home and the rest of your family. Will you repay him by succumbing to the monstrous power signaling your existence?”

  “Neight,” Zosma uttered softly, revealing capacity for emotion. “He is lost…” Her rampage ceased.

  On the outside Allister fended off blasts with pieces of demolished buildings. Leesa stood up, negotiating paid off. “I think Zosma understands.” She pulled Allister to her and they embraced lovingly until a direct laser attack hit him in the back. He fell face first onto the pavement with steam rising from his exposed spine. The facility exploded violently without warning.

  Leesa threw her hands out. In almost slow motion; fire, metal, glass, rock and energy were stopped from passing over them but she wasn’t strong enough to keep it going. Allister tackled her around the waist, as the flames overtook them. “Is it over?” he asked collapsing onto her.

  Leesa caressed encouraged him not to get up. She surveyed all the chaos. “You’re the first person who hasn’t been afraid of me.”

  “I’m not afraid of anything…” he coughed waiting for his spine to heal. “Maybe dragons…”

  Most of the facility was destroyed except for the lab, which had a protective shield around it engineered by Neight when they hid the energy. Leesa and Allister knew it was time to make their way to safety. He wondered what happened to Florence, if she escaped in time. He never knew what her long-term goal was. Leesa didn’t care, but Nicolas and Neight’s whereabouts were her
main concern. Rabia had probably escaped with Russell by then.

  Dorian took Allister by the fabric of his uniform, pointing furiously at a pile of wreckage. He squinted against the setting sun and saw Bridget’s arm. Allister zipped to the rubble without hesitation, placing both hands a good distance apart to free her. The surface area was too great. He dropped it. It lifted into the air unexpectedly; Leesa hovered behind him holding it up with telekinesis. Allister dragged Bridget out, hair matted to her bloody, mangled face, shallow breaths escaping swollen lips. She wouldn’t be happy about the scars but at least she was alive. Dorian collected her body and they snuck to the hangar. Cleaning crews, fire trucks, television vans and government officials invaded the compound, trying to make sense of what had been going on.

  RABIA GIRO

  Earth’s Stratosphere, May, 2026

  “Did Bridget live?” Russell groaned, staring through his glasses out the window of the six seater private plane. He thought about his last encounter with the woman he’d come to love, wondering where his feelings went when he was shooting at her. Rabia retrieved his body before the bomb went off and took him to a safe place. He sported a sling on one arm and bandages around his ribs. Russell winced, vaguely remembering their conversation the first time he came out of his temporary coma. A musty bunker in the middle of Mexico with no access to society.

  All videos and images recounting the flying, super-powered girl, destroying military aircraft over Washington, DC, were repeatedly pulled from the Internet. Someone paid a lot of money to do the damage control but the populous wasn’t stupid. All eyes were on the US government.

  “I am waiting on status of everyone’s location.” Rabia sipped a glass of champagne.

  They passed the tip of Argentina headed to the new base. Two directors reached out to him to form the satellite organization C20 many years before. If he succeeded there, it diminished profit share and power struggle. They had different objectives. It’d be better to unite humanity under one ideal, one built by them. A step in the right direction, Rabia smiled at his first taste of success. Clear goals, resources, strategy, the recipe for reaching milestones. “We must stay focused.”