The Oldest War (To Brave The Crumbling Sky Book 2)

by Matt Snee

  This has been my romance, Jenn thinks. And now it's over.

  She smiles, watching through the window as Jupiter diminishes behind them. Her only solace is she knows she'll be back next year.

  7. Racetrack / Delphiniums

  Speed has always been a vice of the Dunleavys, from their humble beginnings in the Iron Age, to their interplanetary domination of the modern era. Their will to conquer knows no bounds, and their competitive nature is legendary. It started with chariot-racing in antiquity and lives on today in gasoline powered monsters that they race across the ices of Ganymede. To win at all things—that is the goal of the Dunleavy clan.

  –Martin Pichon, “Hidden Human Civilizations”

  “What is this?” Jennifer asked Jon Jason, as he led her through a door of his suite into darkness.

  “This,” he told her, slamming on the lights and revealing a huge subterranean/subsea racing track, “is my special place.”

  It was cavernous, and insanely pompous for one man's hobby. A long oval extended into a giant arena in front of them. On the sides of the track sat golden benches. Along one wall was a line of muscular-looking cars, all in different colors and shapes.

  Jennifer had never imagined such a place. Car racing was a passion that united all of the disparate classes of Jupiter. The Dunleavys had always been at the center of that. She knew of Jon Jason's fascination with racing, which he possessed since before he was allowed to drive. But to have a track like this, just feet away from his private rooms, was a luxury only a Dunleavy could afford. It was breathtaking, and obviously designed for Jon Jason himself. She imagined that he brought friends—acquaintances really—and they would race around the track like wild birds.

  Jon Jason gestured toward the cars. “My lady,” he teased, “would you like to go for a ride?”

  Jennifer was hesitant about Jon Jason. He wasn't what he used to be; he had changed drastically. What could she afford to tell him? What could she afford to do with him?

  “I don't know, it's late—maybe we shouldn't.” Jennifer didn't want to ride in a car. The idea made her claustrophobic. She felt a slight sweat breaking out on the back of her neck.

  “Come on! Don't spoil it, Jenn. Let's go for a ride. These things are fast…”

  They looked fast, with large black tires and crazed hoods. “We've been drinking,” Jennifer argued.

  “That was a long time ago. I feel fine. Don't you feel fine?”

  “I don't think so,” she continued knowing her palms were sweaty and her heartbeat was racing.

  “I'm not taking 'no' for an answer,” he whispered in her ear, and grabbed her arm—softly, but sturdily. He pulled her toward the cars. “Trust me. It will be fun.”

  “Okay,” Jennifer relented. She was scared; not because she thought they were in danger, but rather because she didn't think she could handle the intensity of such an intimate experience when she was not fully in control. She didn't want to ride in a racecar. She just wanted to talk.

  “Which one do you want to try?” he asked her. “There's every color under the rainbow.”

  She didn't know; she couldn't think. “The red one?” she questioned not knowing if she answered correctly.

  “Ah, your favorite color—I remember.” He smiled with a glint in his eye, pulling her with him. They reached the car. He opened the passenger door for her. Against her better judgment, Jennifer got in. She sat on the black leather seat and he closed the door behind her.

  Something poked her in the leg as she sat down. Reaching underneath herself, she pulled out a tiny jeweled earring. She looked to Jon Jason as he walked around the car. Whose is this? Who else has sat here? A woman…

  Without thinking, she pocketed the earring just as Jon Jason was opening his own door. “Isn't it great?” he asked her. She glanced at the sleek dashboard and nodded.

  “Very,” she said, striving to sound genuinely impressed. She reminded herself that despite her confused feelings for Jon Jason, she still needed something from him.

  Jon Jason started the car engine, revving it to life. It was loud and angry. The interior vibrated along with the engine. “Do you hear that?” He grinned, putting the car into gear, they quickly accelerated, the tires screeching beneath them.

  Jennifer tried to gather herself. “Jon Jason,” she said. “The thing you found – I have to have it. You need to help me.”

  He turned to her, sort of, keeping his eyes on the slithering road. “Are you joking?”

  “No.”

  “Do you have any idea how powerful that thing is? My scientists tell me it's unreal, untapped energy and tech we've never seen before. Bigger than Owltech. Bigger than anything.”

  “Yes—Jon Jason, I know what it is and what it's for.”

  “What it's for? Is that why you're here?”

  “Yes,” she answered truthfully.

  “It's way beyond our technology. Do you know what I could do with power like that? I could overthrow the Shadows! You saw how I have to let them in here, at my dining room table!”

  “But Jon Jason—the No-Shape. It can stop the No-Shape.”

  “The No-Shape?” he questioned.

  Jon Jason pressed his foot down hard on the gas and they spun around a corner. Jennifer put her seatbelt on and gripped the dashboard.

  “How do you propose to stop a phenomenon? My people tell me it's like a natural disaster, just something that's happening. You can't stop rain. Anyway, the reports say it's moving away from Earth.”

  “But it will come back.” She tried to make him understand.

  “How do you know? Maybe it's gone for good. And in any case, how do you stop it?”

  “The Triborg–the fortress at the end of the Solar System–is supposed to stop the No-Shape.” She tried to be clear. “We just need to activate it.”

  “Do you really think it's that powerful? And there are four of these shards? One in each Death Dream? To possess all of them….” He laughed to himself. “The Shadows are the enemy—not volcanoes, tornadoes, or floods. I can't fight nature. If the No-Shape strikes here, we'll invest somewhere else. You have to understand, Jenn. This is what I've waited my whole life for.”

  “But Jon Jason…”

  “No—listen. With that kind of power, I could wrest control of Earth from the Shadows. That was the promise of my ancestor, Richard Ross Dunleavy. It's my destiny—I know this. I have known this ever since we found the damn thing. I'm… lured to its power, like a sky to a sun,” Jon Jason said. “Do not underestimate the Dunleavy magic. The Delphiniums do.”

  “You shouldn't overestimate yourself either, Jon Jason,” Jennifer told him. “This isn't about control. It's about saving the Solar System.”

  “I know how to save the Solar System,” he said with arrogance. “It starts with the Shadows. They have their hands in everything! If I could unseat them, everything will fall into my hands. I will be the greatest Dunleavy of all.”

  “The Shadows' time will come,” Jennifer argued. “But now we have to deal with the No-Shape. If we do not act…”

  “I will act, my dear.” Jon Jason rubbed his hairless chin. “I've always known this… thing was on Jupiter, waiting for me. I realize now… I've been waiting for you to show me how to use it.”

  “It has but one use, Jon Jason! It isn't a weapon! It isn't an energy source.”

  “Then why do the Shadows want it?”

  “How do you know they do?”

  “They've asked me about it. Not directly. Always… in that way of theirs, round-about, circular. They know it's there. They want it. They don't want me to have it.”

  I don't want you to have it either, Jennifer realized. “You don't understand.”

  “I understand. You still think you're better than me. It didn't matter that I was a Dunleavy to you. You were the daughter of Marty Pichon, famous among every race in the Solar System. Not to mention your mother's blood. You are a princess who everyone loves without question. I loved you too… remember?” he c
onfessed.

  They raced around the track, Jon Jason gripping the wheel like a throat. “But me! This is mine. How can you come in here and demand such a thing from me? And how do you even know about it? If you know what it is, then you know how to use it! How do I use it?”

  Jenn did not respond, aghast. She watched the road whip before them, gravity pushing her into her seat.

  “Do you think you can take a minute and imagine the responsibilities I have? Do you realize how important I am? I'm not talking about profits! I'm talking about people. This is the only human alternative to Earth—well, except for Uranus, but the Urani aren't even human any more, are they? This is the only place that's free. Sure, it can be cruel, but that's life. Do you think my life is easy?”

  “No, Jon Jason, I don't,” she said. “I just…”

  “You want to take this from me?” He pushed the car faster and faster. She was scared. She didn't know what Jon Jason was capable of. She didn't know him at all.

  “Stop the car,” she shouted.

  He laughed and went faster. The track outside flew around them.

  “Stop the car, Jon Jason.” Her voice was steady now; she was sure of herself. He nodded in her direction but did not listen. She reached over and grabbed his wrist. He shrugged her off. “Please,” she begged.

  Jon Jason frowned and slowed down. “You haven't changed at all; you're still as stuck up as you always were.”

  “Jon Jason, please, it's not like that.” She didn't know what else to say.

  He pulled the car back into its slot and he turned off the engine. “I thought maybe I could trust you. I can't trust any of these people, Jenn. I thought we were friends.”

  “We are friends. You can trust me.”

  “I'm just trying to stop the No-Shape.”

  “You're as crazy as your father,” Jon Jason finished, turning off the ignition and exiting the car.

  Jennifer followed. Jon Jason hurried to the door where they had entered.

  “Jon Jason,” she pleaded. “Please help me.”

  “I think you can help yourself to the way out,” he muttered, without turning. He opened the door and swatted off the lights, leaving her in darkness.

  Failure, barbed with disillusionment struck her. She bent to one knee as her body shook and tears flooded out of her eyes. What did she do now?

  * * *

  “Where are we?” Captain asked the Delphinium. They had risen to the surface and found a new part of Ganymede he has not seen. Buildings draped in blue and green flags and children played carelessly in the streets.

  “We are where the Dunleavys do not come,” said the Delphinium. “Where it is safe.”

  He saw tough, beautiful looking women patrolling the streets on horseback. Missile launchers stood ready on the roofs of nearby buildings.

  “I have to save my friend,” Captain said without thinking.

  “We know that,” said the Delphinium. “Look, my name is Pride. Just be patient. Everything will make sense soon.”

  “What about Jennifer?”

  “Don't worry about her,” said Pride.

  “How do I know I can trust you?”

  “Because you have no other choice. Please. Just relax. You are in our loving authority now.”

  Loving authority? What did that mean?

  As he struggled to makes sense of his situation. He found himself terribly distracted - by what, he did not know. He felt something tugging in the back in his mind that he didn't understand, some plea, or worry. He couldn't quite place it. When he thought of Plerrxx, this concern grew stronger. He knew he had to do something to help his alien friend.

  It was then that the first wisps of what was bothering him became clear - there were words in the back of his head, and they were not his. He realized…

  …It was Plerrxx!

  “Help! Captain! Help!”

  The words were real. They were no figment. Plerrxx was trying to contact him telepathically!

  “Plerrxx?!?” Captain exclaimed, both in mind and voice.

  The Delphinium turned back to him. “What?”

  “Nothing,” Captain responded, annoyed with her. Then he spoke only with his mind.

  “Plerrxx! I can hear you!”

  “Help! Captain! Help!” was all Plerrxx replied.

  Captain spoke to the Delphinium now, “We must save my friend, Plerrxx!”

  “I'm sorry,” said the Delphinium, “but our intelligence inside the Concatenation says your friend is dead. He was executed a few short hours ago. I'm sorry.”

  “But I can hear his telepathic voice, in my head, now! He is very much alive.” Captain argued.

  “I only know what I have been told,” Pride explained, at a loss.

  “I need to speak to whomever is in charge.”

  “You will. Just wait. We are almost there now.”

  Captain sat back in his seat. How could he wait? But - what else could he do?

  * * *

  “Help! Captain! It's not too late! But it will be soon!”

  New words floated into Captain's head. When he replied, it still seemed as though Plerrxx could not hear. The Mmrowwr's words repeated in his thoughts without response.

  “Time is running out!” Captain told Pride.

  “Almost there…” she told him.

  The car whisked into an enclosed driveway and Pride turned off the engine. Outside, two Delphiniums approached them, one opened Captain's door.

  “Captain,” they said, “We -”

  “I have to save my friend!” Captain shouted at them as he jumps from the vehicle.

  “But he is dead, I am sorry,” said one - a pale skinned brunette.

  “It is too late,” said the freckled blond.

  “It's not too late!” Captain argued, loudly, desperate. “I can hear his telepathic voice. He is still out there. We must save him!”

  Pride exited the car, and Captain turned to her, looking for help. She grimaced and spoke, “We will see what the queen says. Come inside.”

  “Only if you promise to help me!” Captain told them, clenching his fists, ready to do anything to save Plerrxx.

  “Please,” said the brunette Delphinium. “We must speak with our queen. She will help you. We cannot decide. We do not have the authority.”

  * * *

  The four of them hurried inside, to a clean interior of hardwood floors and sky-blue walls. Dim light came in through the windows in thin shafts, illuminating the inside of the building cautiously.

  The Delphiniums led him through a hall, up a floor on a staircase, and to large set of double doors. Captain was frantic by this time. He knew he had no choice but to deal with the Delphiniums. He was helpless without them as long as he and Jennifer were separated.

  Thinking of her now, he wondered what she was doing, if she was safe. He wondered when he would see her again, if ever. They had never been separated this long.

  Inside the doors a large high-ceilinged hall greeted him. A council of seven Delphiniums sat in austere thrones. To their sides, pairs of armed Delphiniums guards watched in protection. The Delphinium council mostly looked like regular, young and fit Delphiniums. Captain found his attention focused on the two that stood out - an older, middle-aged woman in her fifties, who sat at the center, and a younger, teenaged pixie of a girl sitting to her left.

  “Yes,” the middle-aged Delphinium spoke, as Captain laid his eyes upon her. “We are we.” She smiled, wary but inviting. “And you are just you.”

  “I don't care why you've summoned me here, and I don't care about what you want,” Captain said, quickly and with anger, “I must save my friend, Plerrxx. And if you won't help me, we have no business.”

  “The Mmrowwr is dead,” spoke the teenage girl, in a flute-like voice. She had short, boyishly cut hair that was pale pink in color. It covered her ears and her bangs fell across her forehead mischievously. Her eyes were green, and her skin was tan. Captain realized that he had seen this one before, on the streets when
they had first arrived on the Ganymede, during the parade. She had been the Delphinium who changed her skin color before him.

  “Do not speak out of turn, Tess,” said the middle-aged matriarch, in a scolding tone. The girl blushed and scowled. The matriarch turned back to Captain.

  “How do you know your friend lives while our sources say he is dead?”

  “I can hear his voice, pleading!” explained Captain. “He says it's not too late!”

  “Hmmmm, interesting.” said the matriarch, standing and wringing her hands. “It is possible…”

  “Mother, how so?” asked the one called Tess. “Our girls would not lie.”

  “No they would not,” said the matriarch. “But there is a way - perhaps the Concatenation was not fully informed on the realities of killing a Mmrowwr. After all, it has been near eighty years since the last violation of the Moroder treaty. The Concatenation - for all their feats - are a short-lived and forgetful race.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Captain.

  The matriarch frowned in thought. “It is not easy to kill a Mmrowwr. You must first kill the mind, and then the body. If you do not kill the mind - the Mmrowwr will continue to live, even without a body. It will eventually heal and re-grow a physical form.”

  “So he's still alive?” Captain asked.

  “Perhaps. If you can hear him. Since it's been so long since the Concatenation has dealt with a Mmrowwr, they may not have been aware of this fact. They may have just poisoned, shot, or otherwise simply murdered his body, leaving his mind alive. Rejoining the two will not be easy - but it can be done.” She nods slowly.

  “He says time is running out!”

  “I imagine so,” said the matriarch. “His body is probably in a refuse area as his mind hovers around it. The Concatenation incinerate their trash - and that's probably what they plan to do to his body.”

  “Then we must help him! Now!” said Captain panics at this new intel.

  The matriarch nodded. “Yes, that is true. We will help. But you will owe us, do you understand?”