HADRON Axiom

by Stephen Arseneault

  Jasper shrugged. “Didn’t need to. I think this exosuit stimulates you somehow. I haven’t felt tired at all since I put it on yesterday.”

  Mace looked him over. “How about this: when we get there, the suit comes off. We both try to get at least a few hours of rest under our belts. If you stay awake, fine. Just do it without the suit.”

  Jasper frowned. “I really don’t need the rest. But if it makes you sleep better, I’ll give it a try.”

  Mace nodded. “Please give it a try.”

  After reloading with supplies, they returned to their perch on the ridge overlooking Ronceverte. The walls of the community center had been completed, along with the roof. A steady stream of workers carried materials through the main entryway as shuttles delivered the technology that made the center a virtual paradise.

  Mace assisted Jasper with the removal of his exosuit. Three minutes later, Jasper was sound asleep.

  Mace lay back on the sleeping bag he had brought with him as he looked over at Jasper. “I thought that might be the case.”

  Jane replied, “Yeah, I wonder if he’ll be sore when he wakes up. The suit seems to reduce inflammation of your joints, but his muscles aren’t used to moving that much. Hope he’s not stiff and in pain.”

  Mace nodded as he closed his eyes. “Say goodnight, Gracie.”

  Chapter 17

  *

  Throughout the day, the shuttles landed and equipment was carried into the five-block-long building. Five hours after their arrival on the ridge, Jane shook Mace’s leg.

  “Hey, get up. They just brought Johnny back. I’m going down there.”

  Mace rubbed his eyes as he said, “Hold up, I’ll go. I’m on good terms with the chancellor. I should be able to walk right in. After that, we should check in with Jeff.”

  Mace picked up his binoculars and surveyed the area below. “One thing I find interesting. They never sent anyone out to look for the girl, Nancy. Maybe those suits aren’t trackable.”

  Jane replied, “Or maybe they’re too busy to notice. Having one lost sheep might take backstage to the rest of the production.”

  “Possible. Although they seem way too organized to let something like this go. Hang on a minute.”

  Mace hustled up to the top of the ridge, looking back across the valley at the house where Nancy Davis had been taken. Three homes down, a shuttle was parked in a nearby field. Half a dozen Mawga soldiers were standing just off the open ramp. Two others stood at the doorway to the house.

  Mace ran back to the others. “We’ve got problems.”

  Jane asked, “What’d you see?”

  Mace rolled over a still sleeping Jasper, lifting the exosuit from beside him and laying it on his slumbering body. The automatic straps for the arms, legs, torso, hips and shoulders wrapped themselves around the sleeping senior, reconnecting him to the Mawga device. Seconds later, Jasper woke.

  “What’s going on?”

  “We need to check on the doc. A shuttle is parked a couple houses from him. Mawga soldiers are in the house.”

  Jane pointed at the town. “What do we do about Johnny? We can’t just leave him.”

  Mace looked through his binoculars. “He’s standing next to the shuttle he came in on ��� talking to a Mawga. Doesn’t look to be under threat or duress.”

  Jane said, “If the shuttle is still in the valley, we can’t very well go snooping around. And since we’re going to be waiting for it to leave, I think you should go down there. At least talk to Johnny and see if he’s OK.”

  Jasper nodded in agreement. “I think she’s right. Until that shuttle leaves the valley, we can’t check on Jeff.”

  Mace glanced at the top of the ridge. “I can’t disagree with that logic. Keep a watch. I should be talking to him in about ten minutes. If you see me stretch my arms up over my head, you’ll know that everything’s OK.”

  Mace moved over and down the backside of the ridge, returning to the roadway below. A short jog had him across the bridge and into town. He walked up to Johnny, who was still standing beside a shuttle ramp.

  “Johnny, everything alright?”

  Johnny turned. “Everything’s good, Mace. Just discussing a few things with my friend here. Tarrok, this is Mace Hardy. He’s the one that’s been assisting the chancellor.”

  Tarrok bowed. “I am aware of Mr. Hardy. And thank you, sir, for all your help. The chancellor has had nothing but good things to say about you.”

  Mace stretched his arms high in the air as he looked over at the community center building. “Looks like it’s really coming along. When do you expect to have it open?”

  Tarrok replied, “The Ronceverte center should be fully operational in another three days. The townsfolk have been a wonderful group to work with. Everyone is so very kind and helpful.”

  Mace gestured toward the valley. “I noticed a shuttle landed just over the ridge. Is everything OK? You guys normally stay in town when you’re on the ground.”

  Tarrok glanced toward the valley. “A member of our volunteer force went missing last evening. She was wearing one of the exosuits. The suit has been found, but the woman remains unaccounted for.”

  Johnny asked, “Is this the first volunteer to up and leave?”

  “Yes. And our concern is about her well being. If a volunteer wants to leave, they can do so of their own accord. However, several of the townsfolk have inquired about her whereabouts, and we’d like to put their minds at ease.”

  Johnny crossed his arms. “So she ditched the suit and ran. Sounds like man troubles.”

  Tarrok crossed his arms. “Perhaps. You see, Mr. Tretcher, this is precisely why we asked for your assistance. You know and understand Humans and their reactions. And you remain reserved in your responses to questions about these topics. Most of the other volunteers seem too excited about the coming center to give a well-thought-out response.”

  Johnny said, “The Mawga���Tarrok here in particular���have asked me to be the Human liaison for the Ronceverte center. I would be responsible for the interim government of the center until such time as an elected government is in place. According to a decree by the president, each community center will have at least one district representative, and each state will have two senators, just as before. The centers should all be in place within three months. After that, we hold new elections for the House and Senate. The president still has two and a half years left of his term.”

  Mace asked, “Did you give them an answer?”

  Johnny took a deep breath. “No, I wanted to mull it over for a few days. Mayor Thompson wants someone in the position when the people start moving in. I told Tarrok here that I’d let them know by then.”

  Tarrok said, “Yes. And if you decide sooner that you would not be interested, please let us know so the mayor may continue his search efforts.”

  Johnny gestured toward the bridge. “You ready to head home?”

  Mace nodded. “Lead the way.”

  Goodbyes were said. Fifteen minutes later Mace and Johnny were standing by the Jeep as Jane and Jasper came down from the ridge.

  Jane grabbed and hugged her husband. “What was that about? Where’d they take you?”

  “I got the same D.C. tour they gave Mace. He was right. Most of these people would jump at the chance to relocate, regardless of any drug.”

  The shuttle in the valley lifted off, heading over the mountains toward Richmond.

  Mace said, “Let’s get over to the house to check on Jeff.”

  “What happened with Jeff?”

  Jasper replied, “We kidnapped a woman for Mace. Jeff was interrogating her at a house in the valley. That shuttle was out looking for her.”

  The group piled into the Jeep. “A woman for Mace, huh? Sounds like Jane’s doing.”

  Mace shook his head. “It… she wasn’t for me. She was for Jeff to see if we could get her off the drug.”

  Jasper stuck his head forward between the seats. “Mace had her tied up and was f
orcing that moonshine down her throat.”

  Mace laughed. “No, well, not exactly anyway. We spotted a couple drunks in town. They had been eating the food but weren’t under the influence of that drug. Jasper took them a couple jugs of shine to loosen up their tongues. Long story short, we think alcohol might prevent the drug from taking effect. If so, we might have just the cure we’re looking for. Our problem then becomes, how do we get the people to drink?”

  Johnny answered, “I don’t know how far you went with the tour, but I insisted on a behind-the-scenes version. The beverage they serve to everyone, it all comes from one giant vat. Only problem then is spiking the punch for twenty-five thousand people at a time. They were adding a sixth floor to the D.C. Building. Already had people lined up waiting to move in.”

  The Jeep pulled to a stop in front of the house the woman had been taken to. Mace was the first in the door.

  “Jeff? You here?”

  Jeff poked his head out from the door. “I’m here. Everything OK? The Mawga have been walking all around this place.”

  Mace said, “We saw them at the house just up the road.”

  Jeff nodded. “After you left, I was looking over that exosuit. It had an extra module attached on the back as compared to Jasper’s. I think that might be a tracker. Anyway, I got spooked and took the exosuit up to that house, left it in the living room as if it had been taken off right there. Just a lucky effort on my part. Two hours sooner and they’d have come here instead.”

  Jane stepped behind her husband. “This the module you’re talking about?”

  Jeff walked around. “That’s the one.”

  Mace took a deep breath. “Crap. Johnny, you head back to the cave. We’ll meet you there. We need to move her. They could be back at any minute. I saw a bag of flour still in the cupboard. Take it. If they ask you why you stopped by this house, tell them you were scavenging.”

  Johnny was quickly out the door. Nancy Davis was untied from the bed and moved to the Jeep. Jane and Jasper stayed behind to clean up any evidence of the home’s occupation. Minutes later, another abandoned location was selected and the woman moved inside and secured.

  Mace said, “She sure is quiet today.”

  Jeff replied. “Flat drunk. She had a rough morning, but half a glass of the shine calmed her right down.”

  Mace looked at her eyes. “Just try not to overdo it, Doc. We don’t want to hurt her. Has she had anything to eat?”

  “I gave her one of the untainted nutrient bars. She took two bites, frowned, and put it down. I’m thinking this process might take the better part of a week to flush that out of her system. By tomorrow, we should know if this has a shot or not.”

  With the test subject secured, Mace returned to the cave. Jasper, Jane and Johnny were sitting on the porch.

  Jane said, “We got nabbed.”

  Mace raised his eyebrows. “What?”

  Jane smirked. “You didn’t see the shuttle come back down?”

  Mace replied, “I was inside the house with Jeff. What happened?”

  Jane sat forward. “I had just finished cleaning the room when they came in the front door. I was caught flat-footed. One of the Mawga asked if I was OK. I said yes, but I could tell he was looking for why we were there. Jasper came walking out of the dining room with an armload of china, asking if it was the type I had been looking for. Couldn’t have been a better cover story. The Mawga looked it over, smiled, and then left.”

  Johnny placed his hand on Jasper’s shoulder. “Old fart still has a little juice left in the old brain.”

  Jasper shrugged. “It was the only thing I could think of. If you were supposed to be scavenging, why not us?”

  Jane said, “Well, I think we moved her just in time anyway. The Mawga detail that paid us a visit staked a ten foot pole in the ground that was covered with sensors on top. They’ll be monitoring that road. We should keep an eye out for other poles.”

  Mace sat in an open chair. “At least we picked up a valuable piece of info from all this. Those exosuits have tracking beacons. We can’t just go in there and walk out with one.”

  Johnny sat scratching the side of his head. “You know, I was just thinking about the suits. If the Mawga are so trusting, why won’t they let you wear that hardened suit they gave you all the time, even while down here?”

  Mace shook his head. “We don’t face any real threats. That’s a tech they don’t want us scrutinizing.”

  Johnny leaned back in his chair. “Do you think Bontu would allow it for his favorite Human if he was under threat?”

  Mace turned. “You have something in mind?”

  “I do. We stage an attack on this place. Tip over a few chairs, break a window, maybe paint ‘traitor’ on the side of the building here. Make it look like someone doesn’t like your cooperation.”

  Mace thought for a moment before returning a half scowl. “Think the more likely result of that would be the Mawga poking around and then spiking one of those sensor poles down. That’s the last thing we want.”

  Jasper added, “And I don’t care for the breaking windows or painting everything up.”

  Johnny sat forward. “You aren’t still harboring the thought of opening this place back up to tourism, are you?”

  Jasper sighed. “Nope. I fully realize that ship done sailed. But I still live here. This is my property.”

  Jane said, “I actually think it’s a decent idea. Only we don’t do it here. Pick somewhere that we don’t care if they monitor. Stage the event there. Just have to say we were out scavenging and were attacked. If they free up that suit, good for us. If they just spike the ground for monitoring, who cares?”

  Johnny smiled. “Now, that could work. And if Bontu thinks you’re such a good salesman, this is your opportunity to prove it. Insist that you take possession of it while here on the ground.”

  Jane asked, “I still don’t get why he hasn’t asked you to start eating the food bars.”

  “I told him it���s best I give the impression of not being biased. If I’m holding out on eating that stuff, it makes me far more believable as a neutral party. I think Bontu sees that.”

  Johnny stood.

  Jane asked, “Where you going?”

  Johnny pointed toward a far ridge. “It’s time I checked in with the resistance. I’ll give them a heads-up of what we know. Hopefully they have some direction for us in return. I hate to think we’re lacking leadership on all this. If we’re the best the resistance has, it doesn’t speak well of our future.”

  Johnny walked off the porch to set up his end of the laser comm. Several minutes later he could be heard talking to someone on the other end. When the conversation ended, he returned to the porch.

  “There’s been some fighting. Resistance around D.C. is heavily splintered. Seems a group took it on themselves to down two of the Mawga shuttles as they were approaching the community center there. Word is twenty-two of the grays are dead. Everyone in D.C. within five kilometers of the center are on lockdown. Mawga troops are scouring the streets where the barrage of RPGs were fired from.”

  Mace asked, “They have any idea of who it was?”

  Johnny nodded. “Rumor has it there’s a fanatic running a group of hardcore vets. They think he came out of the Midwest. Has upwards of a hundred followers. Command feels they’re going to bring undue pressure on the rest of the holdouts at a time when they’re just beginning to organize. Contact said they estimate we have about ten thousand holdouts remaining in the Virginia to Michigan region.”

  Jane frowned. “Ten thousand? That’s not much considering how outgunned we are. And when those centers are all done, they’ll know who the holdouts are. We’ll be the only ones not in them.”

  Mace asked, “Any word from overseas? Anyone still fighting there?”

  Johnny shrugged. “They just don’t know. Rumors say the Russians and Chinese shot down another dozen of those big ships, but they’ve supposedly taken a pounding for it.”

 
; Mace took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “If the population numbers are anything like what Bontu said, the Mawga are feeding a billion people. To do that, they must have tremendous resources at their disposal. I can’t imagine any Earth army is going to overcome that.”

  Jane said, “Well, what do we do? We can’t just give up.”

  Mace sat back in his chair, crossing his arms. “I’m not suggesting that. It drastically changes the face of the potential conflict, though. The resistance will have to be through the use of guerrilla tactics. Make them pay a price for being here so they’ll leave on their own.”

  Jane leaned her head back in frustration. “There’s one huge problem with that scenario. Let’s say we do get rid of the Mawga. How will we feed the billion zombified Humans they leave behind? We have no infrastructure for that, only a handful of farms. And even if we could grow enough food, we have no delivery system to get it to the masses. Right now, if the Mawga left, within weeks we’d be facing the same dilemma we did over the winter: too many people and not enough food.”

  Jasper said, “They’ve got us boxed in pretty good. If we’re planning to go all guerrilla on ‘em, we’re gonna need to start doing some recruiting of our own. And we’re gonna need a lot more than those pea-shooters we’ve got. Mace, what are the chances you can get us some of the heavy duty weapons?”

  Mace shrugged. “We have the contacts. I just don’t know how willing they will be to give any of them up. When everything shut down, those all became finite resources. They aren’t making them anymore. And as far as putting up any kind of a fight, we don’t even know what we’re up against. They might have another ten thousand of those big ships up there in orbit.”

  Jasper waved his hand. “I might have an idea. We could use the Green Bank Telescope for that, if we can find someone at the place to run it. It’s a radio telescope. If there’s anything up there, we should be able to see it. That dish is huge.”

  Johnny said, “Where is it?”

  Jasper pointed northeast. “Right up highway 92, about sixty miles from here. But they may not have power. It’s kind of out in the boonies. Don’t know how far the Mawga have run power out.”