PRIME VECTOR: The Immortal Oath, Episode One (Prime Vector Series Book 1)

by D. A. Hicks

  “Ry and I got sort of separated.”

  “I figured as much. But why are you out here, technically in the middle of nowhere with a stranger. I could be a serial killer for all you know.” I crossed my arms over my chest and cocked an eyebrow.

  She laughed. “Are you?”

  I dropped my arms to the side. “No, I’m not. I’m just your run-of-the-mill local who’s tired of the QEC commandos going on like they’re God’s gift to men.”

  “I know what you mean.” She faced away from me and more strands of hair broke free from her ponytail.

  Maybe it was wishful thinking, but something told me Catita did understand. What did the QEC take from her? Did they make her watch her mother die, as they had with me? I squeezed my eyes shut and pushed the memory away.

  There was no point dwelling on things I couldn’t change. Mom’s killer was immortal. We’d never get justice or even a small semblance of revenge. I failed Mom that day. And if I were being honest, I’d been failing her ever since, doing a shitty job of taking care of my little sister, as I’d promised.

  “There was a fire in the fields outside the Wharf District.” Her gaze surveyed my profile. “Do you know anything about that?”

  “All I know is that the people here are done putting up with the Martians.”

  “This planet belongs to Mars, to the Forever Queen.”

  The way she said it so matter of fact made the usual lump in my stomach churn into a tight knot. “First of all—”

  “Stardust, this is Genie. Come in.” The radio crackled to life on the secure channel and filled the air with my little sister’s voice.

  “I gotta get that.” I climbed down the steps to my cabin, rushed to my desk on the far end, and grabbed the handheld. “This is Stardust. What’s going on, Ari?”

  She wasn’t supposed to be out today. I tapped my finger on the side of my head and glared out my window. Static filled the air for a long while. I didn’t like this one bit.

  “Hey there, Tek.” She exhaled heavily, and I imagined her passing out in the middle of who knew where.

  “Ari?”

  “Yeah, I’m here. So, remember how we were going to keep a low profile this week on account of the immortals being in town?”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “Um, I kind of went out anyway. The net is full. It’s our biggest pull this season.”

  “You took your shrimp boat out?”

  “Yeah, but here’s the problem—”

  “The Genie is the problem, Ari,” I said. “Your boat can’t handle a full load.”

  “Okay, yes…here’s the other problem.” She hesitated, and I gripped the handheld tighter. “The beach is crawling with uniforms all of a sudden.”

  “We’re not allowed past the bay, Ari. There are no exceptions.” I pinched the bridge of my nose.

  “Well, you’ve done it before. I knew the catch would be good, and I didn’t want the bastards walking away with our loot. I —” For all her bravado, her voice cracked, and that did something to my insides.

  “Did they see you?”

  “I think so. But they haven’t come after me. I jumped ship when I spotted them.” Her voice sounded so small and defeated.

  “What’s going on?” Catita appeared to my left.

  “My sister needs a ride and…” I braced my hands on the table, meeting her gaze.

  What was wrong with me? I shouldn’t be this comfortable with a uniform in my cabin. Catita and I were not friends. She was the enemy.

  “Tek, you can tell me. It’s not like I’m gonna run out and ping the QEC on you.” She sat on my bed. When she ran her hands over the sheets, her cheeks turned red.

  “Fine. We are not allowed past the bay when the QEC is in town.”

  “Why not?” she asked.

  “What exactly do you think you’re here for?” I was sure the Martian Service Academy included lessons on cruelty and the old-time tradition of taking from the poor to spoil the rich.

  “To keep the peace.”

  I let out a frustrated chuckle. “We have peace when you’re not here. When the QEC is in town, they mine the petrol and other raw materials found at the bottom of the ocean. They get especially pissy when the locals disrupt their schedule.”

  “That makes sense.” She glanced down at her hand.

  “What they do makes sense to you?”

  “No, I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “You know what? I don’t have time for this. Ari is out there, and she needs me.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “She’s sick. She won’t survive a day in prison.”

  “Let’s go get her, then.” She shot to her feet and joined me.

  “Are you sure you want to come with me?”

  “I’m already here. Where else am I gonna go?” She dipped her head toward the radio.

  “Ari, where are you?” I spoke into the handheld. “I’m coming to get you.”

  “Oh, thank God. I’m hiding in the Blue. Are you sure?”

  “Now she’s trying to be sensible?” I shook my head, then pressed the talk button. “I have to. You’re my sister.” I consulted the nautical charts spread across the desk. “And you only have about an hour before high tide comes in and the cave floods.”

  5

  More Time Would Be Nice

  Tek

  “Fuck me. None of this would’ve happened if I hadn’t moved out.” I scrambled back to the bathroom.

  Knocking small plastic containers out of the way, I reached for the Ukruum wafers Alexa got for me on the black market. Everyone raved about them, the high, the feeling that everything was possible. I’d never felt it, but they did a good job with general aches and hunger.

  “Moved out?” Catita stepped in and watched me with curiosity in her eyes as I popped a couple of tablets in my mouth and washed them down with water from the faucet.

  “You hungry? I have mocha flavor here. They taste like shit. I mean cardboard.”

  “They’re not that bad.” She grabbed a couple and ate them. “So what happened?”

  “I moved out of the house after Mom died.” For whatever stupid reason, I blamed Dad. Truth was, I’d been an asshole for leaving him and Ari when they needed me the most.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

  “Why would you know about that?” I stopped to study her features.

  “I don’t know.” She waved her hand in dismissal. “I don’t see how you staying home would’ve changed things, though. Sounded like your sister was pretty determined to go out. Why did she do that anyway?”

  “Her stunts are getting out of control.” I rubbed the creases on my forehead. “Eighteen months ago, she was diagnosed with Dep.”

  “Oh, Tek, I’m so sorry.” She squeezed my shoulder.

  “Yeah, me too.” I rushed to the stepladder and climbed out.

  Dep was an incurable disease that had shown up on Earth shortly after Mars was colonized. It affected the bone marrow like cancer and consumed the body quickly. Ari had months left. I still hadn’t gotten over Mom’s death, and now I had to get used to the idea of losing Ari too.

  “Ever since she got sick, she seems to have some kind of fucked-up death wish. And there’s nothing I can do to help her. I mean, other than keep her from getting herself killed.” I turned the ignition key, and the engine rumbled to life. “Hold on to something.” I hit the accelerator.

  “Maybe she’s trying to live a normal life before it’s all over.” Her gaze darted from mine to the horizon up ahead, where a tinge of light threatened to break through.

  “You might be right. I wish I could give her more time.”

  Catita’s head snapped toward me. “More time would be nice. Are we far?”

  “About two miles.”

  In the distance, the hollow cliff hovered over the ocean waves. During low tide, the vault underneath was big enough to house a kayak or canoe. Farther out, the dark outline of Ari’s boat looked like the little engine that coul
d, teetering on its side as it struggled to hold on to its loot.

  “This is as far as we’re allowed to go.” I killed the engine.

  “Wait, we have to jump in?”

  “Yeah, go on.” I pulled on the rope and let it run through my hands until my kayak made a splash. “Can you swim?” I toed off my shoes.

  “Yes, but not like this. I can’t even see anything.” She peered over the side.

  “I promise it’s safe. The darkness is our friend right now.” I stripped down to my boxer shorts and waited until she did the same.

  She ogled me for a few beats, then unbuckled her belt. “Facing Captain Weston doesn’t seem like that big of deal right about now.” She dropped her clothes next to mine.

  “It’s just a little water.” I swung my leg over the rail and took her hand in mine. “Jump.”

  As soon as we floated to the surface, I helped her onto the kayak, hopped on, and headed for the cave. Ari had done a great job of finding a good place to hide. In the middle of the night, the entrance to the grotto was impossible to see. The problem with the Blue was that once high tide came in, it would flood and turn into a perfect death trap.

  We glided inside. The moonlight came in from an opening above and bounced off the seawater as an array of bright blues and silvers flickered around the cavern walls playfully.

  I shifted my body to check on Catita. “What do you think?”

  “It’s great.” Her gaze darted upward toward the vault’s highest point.

  “Gosh, am I glad to see you.” Ari jerked to her feet. Her brown curly hair bounced wild in the breeze. “Did you see her out there?”

  Ari meant the Genie. “Yeah, I did. You know you can’t keep the catch, right? We can’t take the boat back to the wharf. The uniforms will be on us before we reach the docks.”

  “Come on. We gotta try.”

  High tide had risen about half a foot since I’d come in, slowly closing the only entranceway to the cave. In less than an hour, the grotto, even the cliff, would be underwater. I’d do anything to keep Ari happy, but right now my only concern was keeping her alive.

  “You think the QEC cares if you stick it to them like this? Fishing right under their noses? You, the boat, the catch—it all means nothing to them.” I slid off the kayak and pulled it onto the small strip of land.

  “What now?” Ari saw Catita, and her eyes went big like saucers.

  Wet and out of her uniform, she didn’t look like a Martian, though Ari didn’t seem to agree with me.

  “This is Catita. She was with me when you hailed. I didn’t have time to drop her off. Long story. Don’t ask.”

  “Ooookay. You think they’ll leave my boat?”

  “If we’re lucky, they’ll just take the loot and skip the fishing permit check on your unregistered boat.” I rubbed the back of my neck. Ari was sixteen, but in many ways she was still a kid. It killed me not being able to help her, but messing with the QEC rarely ended well. “It’s not ideal. But while they’re busy with the Genie, we’ll get the break we need to get back to the beach unnoticed.”

  “The Genie for our lives? That’s not gonna work.” She crossed her arms with a pout that made her look like a five-year-old.

  The Genie was already lost. The QEC would commandeer it for not having proper documentation, and use it for spare parts. Ironically, they’d be taking back their own crap since Ari and I built the Genie out of parts we’d “found” in a QEC warehouse.

  “We have to play the odds.” I placed an arm around her. “And we have to do it now before sunrise.”

  “We can’t fight the QEC. I’m sorry.” Catita shot a glance to the shrinking entrance.

  Ari’s need to feel alive and forget about her illness cost her the Genie this time. She had so little these days, and so few of them left. She shivered in my arms, and I held her tighter.

  “We could cut their hearts out,” Ari blurted out. “Mom used to say that’s how you kill an immortal.”

  I winced. It still hurt to think of Mom. “And you believe that?”

  She shrugged. “It works on vampires.”

  We didn’t have time for this. “One, vampires don’t exist. And two, assuming the QEC things have a heart, how would you even get close enough? They’ll cut you to pieces the minute you’re within reach.”

  “My sister is QEC. Trust me, they have a heart. But they can’t be killed. Nothing pierces through their skin.”

  I pointed at Catita, as if the truth coming from her held more weight. “Would you actually do it?”

  “No, I know. It’s stupid. I’m stupid.”

  “You know you’re not. I’m sorry. I wish I could do more.” I wished I could give her a better life, or at least a much longer one.

  Ari studied Catita, her mouth slightly open. I knew that look. She had a hundred questions going through her head. “How does that work?” she asked. “Why is your sister immortal but not you?”

  “I was born into an immortal family.” Catita glanced around the cave as if looking for the right answer. “Each member is only allowed one child. Mom had two.”

  “I always thought immortals could do whatever they wanted.” Ari clicked her teeth.

  “Not always. Rules are there for reason.” Catita inhaled and shifted her body away from us.

  Ari’s words had definitely hit a nerve with her. If we were not in a time crunch, I would definitely stay and ask a few questions of my own.

  “Let’s just go before they see us.” I stepped onto the kayak and waited for Ari to get on before I glided out of the Blue.

  By then, the QEC had already boarded the Genie. I stuck my oar in the water and turned us around. When we reached the other end of the cliff, I tethered the kayak and gestured for Ari and Catita to follow.

  “We’re stuck here until they’re gone.” I offered Ari a hand to help her climb up the rocks. “Are you tired?”

  “I’m fine.” She pulled a pack of Ukruum wafers out of her pouch and popped four into her mouth.

  “I thought you said you were going to start cutting back on those.”

  “I will.” She nodded. “Promise.”

  “It’s practically sunrise now.” Catita gripped my forearm, biting the inside of her lip.

  Because of us, she was going to be late meeting her sister, who was somehow the only person who could help Catita avoid a long stay in solitary. So much for offering her my help. I’d led her straight to the people she was running away from.

  “Thank you for coming to get me.” Ari’s gaze switched from me to Catita. “I don’t know what took over me.”

  “I’ll always be here for you.”

  “I know.” She glanced down at her hands for a beat. “What are they saying?”

  “No idea.” Catita stared straight ahead with her mouth open. “That’s Lady Sonja. She’s the general of the army on Mars. Why is she here?” She flushed her back to the rocks, pressing her hand to her forehead. “I’m so dead.”

  “It’s her.” Ari gritted her teeth. “She’s the one who killed Mom. Tek, she’s the one who gave the order.”

  “I know.” I swallowed and placed an index finger to my lips.

  My stomach tightened when Lady Sonja strode onto the main deck. Her boots fell heavy on the wooden planks as she made her way port side. She surveyed her surroundings, bringing up a hand to cover her nose. I couldn’t tell if she was disgusted with the condition of the boat or her platoon.

  Her unit scurried about like river rats. No doubt looking for the owner of the unregistered vessel. Wincing, Lady Sonja shrugged out of her jacket. Underneath, she wore a tank top constructed of the same material as the pants. Her pale, muscled arms protruding out of the leathery suit made her look half-human, half something else.

  As if she could hear our thoughts or sense us, she turned to face the cliff. I ducked, heart drumming in my throat. When I peered at her again, she’d moved on to bark orders to her crew.

  “We can wait it out until she’s gone. I don’
t think she’s interested in any of us right now.” I squeezed Catita’s fingers to get her to snap out of her almost panic attack.

  “Lady Sonja has zero tolerance for people who don’t abide by the rules.” Catita strained her neck to look at Ari on the other side of me. “Shit. Where did your sister go?”

  I shifted my body in time to catch a glimpse of Ari swimming toward her boat. “What does she think she’s doing?”

  “The uniforms are gone.” Catita tapped my shoulder and pointed at Lady Sonja’s unit in the distance. “Let’s go get Ari. Who the hell knows what Lady Sonja did to the boat?”

  I dove into the water and swam as fast as I could to catch up to Ari. She had a good minute head start. When I came up for a breath, three detonations exploded in succession. Ari’s ship blew up into chunks that landed not far from Catita and me. I inhaled and went under. Heat gnawed at my back and arms as I kicked my feet to go deeper and get away from the flames on the surface.

  I waited until my lungs burned for air, then went looking for Ari. I found her drifting close to what looked like half of the poop deck of her boat. She floated several feet under water, unconscious with her arms extended and hair hovering around her face. This could not be happening. I swam to her, hooked my arm around her waist, and pulled. I tugged again, and again, but we only sunk farther down. Black spots flashed in front of me, and the burn in my lungs intensified.

  “I wish for all of us to make a long trip to Mars,” she had said, blowing out the candles on her sixteenth birthday cake.

  I laughed at her outlandish birthday wish. “Well, if the Martians ever decide to let anyone in, it’d be you. I’m sure.”

  Ari was strong, and in spite of the cancer-like disease that’d been eating at her since she turned fourteen, she was full of life, determined to live every moment she had to the fullest. Her biggest flaw was her irrational belief in me. She’d taken her boat out today, trusting I’d come save her if she ran into trouble. I couldn’t fail her like I did Mom.

  The water near the surface sparkled under the sunrays, clear blue in some spots, bright green in the distance. But below us, the Genie headed for a dark abyss. I shook Ari to get her to wake up, to help me.