Renegades (Dark Seas Book 3)

by Damon Alan

  “Okay, Seto, I’m getting ready to leave here for the Hinden. Resume the recording.”

  Orson continued his insane dictates. “I expect you’re probably wondering who the hell I am about now. You don’t know me, of course, but if you look at my records you’ll see me as Weapon’s Mate Garrette Orson. I’m one of the civilians from the Palino, except that I’m not a civilian at all. I am former Alliance military, marooned on Hamor and left to die with the rest of that planet. As you can see, the Alliance plan to destroy me failed.”

  Seto had never met the man, but she knew the type and she’d already brought up his records. They began with him arriving in the fleet aboard the Hamorian freighter.

  If he was Alliance, he must have fallen through the cracks during the chaos at Hamor. Maybe as a result of that perceived abandonment he’d suffered a schizophrenic break.

  But here he was. Somehow he’d found passage on the Palino and made it off planet masquerading as a local. The stress of the Hive invasion had broken a lot of minds both in and out of the military.

  Captain Dayson would probably want to conduct a deeper search into the histories of the Hamorians.

  She pushed her thoughts aside to listen.

  “—specializing in nuclear weapons. So specialized, in fact, that I’ve bypassed the control circuitry for the fail safes on the missiles the Schein carries. I’m sending one your way just so you know I mean business. If you check your inventory lists, you’ll see that I still have forty-two nukes at my disposal. Eight of which are FTL birds. I suggest you comply.” Orson giggled.

  “Pause,” Captain Dayson said.

  A long pause made Halani wonder if the link was broken.

  “Stars damn it,” her commander said. “We don’t need this right now.” She paused a moment, probably considering the implications and a response. “Restart.”

  “The missile should arrive at my selected target at sixteen hundred. I think you’ll find that to be plenty of time for you to get working on my demands. Don’t try any of your tricks, Captain. I’m nestled up to a big rock, sensor sweeps won’t detect me.

  Regardless of where I am, I know exactly where you are, and I’m about to prove it. Oh, and one more thing. Be a sweetheart, Captain Dayson, and make sure you ask for fifty female volunteers from your crew. And by volunteers I mean I expect to find fifty fertile and compliant women on the colony ship when I get there. My boys and I are going to do some colonizing, if you know what I mean, and we’re going to need plenty of baby-makers. Orson out.”

  Seto was surprised by the emotionless sound of her captain’s voice, a woman who was usually expressive with her tone. But then she realized she’d heard the captain sound this cold once before.

  When Merik had killed Gilbert. Dayson had coldly directed the ground forces to kill any natives who approached the marine forces.

  While Captain Dayson was listening, Captain Malveaux had assumed the command couch. He nodded at Seto in greeting.

  “What is the fleet time now, Halani?” Captain Dayson asked.

  “Fourteen thirty-two,” Seto answered.

  “Set condition one throughout the fleet. Full battle stations. Priority on missile defense.”

  Halani activated the automatic process of setting the fleet to condition one from her station. In the distance, past the bridge hatch, she faintly heard klaxons summoning the crews to their stations.

  As she worked, she heard Captain Malveaux set the Hinden into a state of war from his command station. “Set Condition One ship wide. Ready anti-nuclear pickets. Battle stations. All hands battle stations. This is not a drill.”

  Captain Dayson was still on the comm. Halani heard background noise on the transmission. Wind and people talking. “Get us to a defensive posture, and see if you can get any coverage over to the asteroid farms. Tell the Palino to scramble and shove off from her docking position and withdraw to a safe distance from any potential target.”

  “Wilco, Captain. What’s you’re ETA at the Hinden?” Halani asked.

  “We should be in low orbit at sixteen hundred. Captain Malveaux is fleet commander until I arrive.”

  Malveaux broke in. “Roger, Captain Dayson. We’ll be ready.”

  “Alleyne, I have no doubt. If anything changes, notify me immediately.” Despite the reassuring words, the coldness in Dayson’s voice remained.

  “Will do,” Malveaux replied.

  “Dayson out.”

  “Hinden out.”

  Seto watched the main screen in front of her, at the moment displaying readiness telemetry for the various sections of the ship. She noted the railgun stations reporting green, one by one.

  I’d hoped to never see that again.

  Chapter 13 - Merik’s Choice

  Longnight, Cycle 164, Year 8749

  A group of soldiers surrounded Alarin as he and Sarah Dayson stepped from the Great Hall into the twilight of Jalai’s glow. Below and in the distance, nearly obscured by haze, the lights of Zeffult glittered by the sea. It was far too beautiful of an evening for his newcomer friend to make the mistake unfolding now.

  Alarin walked briskly beside Sarah Dayson. “You can’t just walk out on a council. If you leave now, the adepts will see it as an insult.”

  Sarah didn’t answer him with words, but her eyes betrayed her desperation.

  “This is exactly how adepts degrade each other at a high council,” Alarin implored. “Don’t do this.”

  Sarah stopped, stood silently for a moment, then pulled something attached to a cord from her ear. “Alarin, you’re going to have to make excuses for me. There is an emergency at the fleet, and you will know what’s wrong as soon as I do.” She gestured toward the Great Hall. “I’m trying to save these people. What’s going on may be worse than Merik.”

  Even after nearly two years, a twinge of pain took a bite of Alarin’s stomach.

  “Nothing, Sarah, could be worse than this.” Alarin tried to put authority in his voice. “It’ll take many cycles to undo what you’re doing here.”

  “Then we’ll have work ahead of us.” She glanced at him with furrowed brows. “I promise you, this is worse.”

  Alarin looked up at the orange blemishes on the face of Jalai. “We’ve weathered the hardest part of our unity already. What can be so horrid that you risk it all?” He grabbed her arm and gestured toward the gas giant. “What can be worse than that, Sarah?”

  Looking briefly up at the raging scar on the planet, then back at Alarin, she sighed deeply. “You’re going to have to trust me.” She made a point of engaging his eyes by resting her hand on his shoulder. That sort of touch spoke to the growth of their friendship. “A madman is threatening to unleash a weapon, much larger than the one Franklin Gilbert used on Merik’s vineyard.”

  Alarin’s eyes widened. “That is a just reason for your departure.”

  “I will return as soon as I can, I promise you. My people need this world ruled by one government as much as you do.”

  Most of Sarah’s people kept moving toward the shuttle, but two of her soldiers stood ready, near their leader. They nervously scanned the darkness for any sign of danger. Alarin knew what their hand weapons could do. He took care not to provoke them, in case they didn’t understand the nature of this exchange.

  Alarin didn’t doubt her words. That wasn’t the issue. The issue was her departure, but that argument was unwinnable, so he’d try mitigating the damage instead. “I’ve seen your soul. I do trust you. And I’ll make them see it that way,” he said, attempting to reassure her. “If they don’t listen, I’ll walk out. Believe me, that will make your leaving look like the bite of a sculvug.”

  Sarah’s face was grim. “They’ll listen to you, Alarin. Go to Edolhirr. I’ve talked to the man. He’s on your side.”

  She had become something more than the woman he’d met on the newcomer vision screens long ago. She’d become a leader, and not only of her people. Many of Alarin’s people revered her for the iron the newcomers shared. She’d
done many things for Zeffult, and most had made lives in the nation better than before. That earned her the most respect from Alarin.

  “I’ll do that,” Alarin said. He looked at the ground for a second, then back at her. “Farewell, Sarah. I have few friends. You are one of them. I still need your help to make this place right again.”

  “We are friends, you sweet talker.” Sarah grinned, something she rarely seemed to do anymore, at least that Alarin noticed. Maybe because every time he saw her, serious business was afoot. “I’ll be back. I’m not done pushing stubborn adepts around.”

  She turned to leave, but Alarin grabbed her arm once again. “Whatever this threat you go to face, Merik already saw the matter successfully resolved.”

  “That doesn’t mean I can do nothing,” she replied.

  Alarin shrugged. “Maybe it does.”

  Sarah smiled at Alarin, then pulled his hand from her arm. “I think it’s more likely her vision is how it is because I do what must be done.”

  “Sound logic,” he conceded as he lowered his now empty hand.

  She ran after the rest of her people, her two soldiers in tow.

  He watched for several minutes as the newcomers loaded their belongings, then covered his ears as the skyship lifted from the ground.

  They flew away, into the wind. The warm glow of their ship turned east before climbing rapidly toward the clouds. High in the air after a few minutes, the machine made a huge surging noise and a long burst of orange flame shot out from behind it.

  The craft rapidly disappeared over the horizon.

  Alarin stood silently and sensed the wind playing with the trail of white vapor left behind.

  A tug on his sleeve drew him back to the moment. Turning, he saw a young woman no more than a few years into womanhood at his side.

  “Forgive me, Master Adept, but the council is in disarray. I am Lord Edolhirr’s youngest daughter. He sent me to retrieve you.”

  “And you have done so, Lady…” Alarin paused for her name.

  “Emille, Master. I am an adept in training.”

  They turned together and walked toward the Grand Hall.

  “Acolyte, then. Acolyte Emille.”

  “Yes.”

  The two walked for a few minutes in silence, although Alarin could tell the girl was bursting.

  “What’s troubling you?”

  “I only got to a see a small bit of what adepts such as yourself and my father saw of Master Merik’s revelation. Even so, I am in awe of what you’ve done, what Merik did for us, and what you will do.”

  “What do you mean by what I will do?” Alarin asked.

  “I mean, the vision… that’s not right. The consciousness… the prophecy. You were in it.”

  “Was I?”

  “You toy with me. I am not that far from the end of my studies, Master Adept. I’m not some ignorant child.”

  “I’m not toying with you, Acolyte Emille. You should know that you’ll never be at the end of your studies. I still learn things every day. Regarding your vision, however, I didn’t see what you saw.”

  “That’s exactly what my father said.” The agitation in her voice was clear.

  They reached the base of the steps to the Great Hall and began climbing. “Maybe because he didn’t see that either. But who’s to say that we didn’t all see something different, what the creator of our consciousness felt was right for us to see.”

  “I saw a great darkness. You were in it.”

  Alarin stopped, near the top of the stairs. He sat down on a step, and patted the stone riser next to him. “Nothing is so urgent I can’t listen to your concerns.”

  Sitting next to him, she fervently explained herself. “I saw darkness, a god like Faroo, but not him, winking out. Coldness where there was warmth. Souls swirling in a black abyss. I saw you, in a box of smooth stone with doors like a house. I saw you in one place, then another, in an instant.”

  “What was I doing?”

  “These were visions of different places at different times, but in the last one you were… you were dying, Master Adept. Your soul was being eaten. But even as it was, you fought something. I cannot say what.”

  Alarin touched the girl’s mind, gently, lest she know he had touched without asking. She told the truth as she saw it. He sat quietly, contemplating her vision for several minutes. Finally he spoke. “We all must die. If my fate is to die fighting evil, then I’m honored to embrace it.”

  “You looked at my vision, but you did not see it all,” the girl said, staring down at the stone steps before her.

  Alarin’s face turned red. “I’m s… Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t…” Alarin sat quiet for a while as others walked past, in and out of the building behind them. Emille waited with him. His touch had been gentle and skilled. This acolyte had talent. “I’m impressed, Emille. You are more gifted than I perceived. And I now carry an embarrassment unworthy of my title of Master.”

  “Yours was a light touch. Believe me, there are others much more crude. The female adepts endure a lot of curiosity, Master Adept,” Emille replied. “Your touch wasn’t unwelcome, and it will never be mentioned. I invite you to see the fullness of the vision.”

  His face still burning with embarrassment, Alarin took Emille’s hand, and stared into her eyes. His consciousness wrapped into hers. Her mind opened to him like a flower for sunlight. He experienced the vision as it had been for her. In return, he shared his experience of when Merik joined the adept minds.

  When it was over Alarin released Emille’s hands, and they fell to her lap.

  Her face was blushing red, matching his.

  Alarin was first to speak. “You did not mention all that Merik had shown you. You saw more than many masters did, I expect.”

  “I didn’t know that.”

  “But you did know about…”

  “Yes,” she said hurriedly. “I knew about that.”

  The two stood and walked into the council, neither saying another word.

  Chapter 14 - Target

  20 MAI 15329

  Sarah looked at her watch, then unstrapped from her seat as her shuttled entered into low orbit. Sixteen of her comrades floated in their seats around her, retained by their harnesses. Speculation ran wild as to the nature of Orson’s threat. Whatever that intent, he’d promised a demonstration in less than five minutes.

  She pushed forward to the cockpit so the Hinden could reach her with details as they came in. Opening the pressure hatch, she pulled herself into position behind the pilots.

  “Hello,” she said as she latched herself into the third seat of the cockpit. The seat was normally reserved for the commander of a combat insertion team to use when picking the landing spot for his soldiers.

  “Hi, Captain, welcome. Want my seat?” the copilot asked, then started to unstrap.

  Sarah waved the officer off. “No, no, I don’t know how to fly one of these things,” Sarah said. “Thanks anyway. Any word from the Hinden?”

  “None about the event,” the copilot answered. “We checked in once we reached orbit. Lieutenant Seto asked us to hold off on our next maneuver until after the 16:00 mark.”

  “Probably a good idea. Captain Malveaux knows his business,” Sarah agreed.

  Sarah waited with the other two crew, she looked back into the passenger compartment and shook her head to let the people there know she didn’t have any details. They’d wait it out together. Sarah looked at her watch again. 15:57:02

  “Should I shut the hatch?” Sarah asked.

  The pilot was busy, and spoke without looking at her. “No, sir, please leave it open. If we’re EMPed, we’ll want to be able to get to the crew compartment.”

  “Good point,” Sarah replied. She felt like she should be doing something, but there wasn’t anything to do. She fidgeted, which reminded her of Gilbert. He never sat still.

  I wish you were here now, Franklin. You’d know how a man like Orson works.

  The copilot leaned back and tapped
a container beside Sarah’s seat. “There’s a helmet in there, sir, with auto-darkening visors. The darkening is non-electronic, so if there is a blast in our field of view your eyes will be protected. Please put it on.”

  Sarah opened the box and saw two of the helmets inside amidst other gear. She pulled the helmet over her head and it auto-sized to fit. Seto’s voice giving time hacks to the fleet emanated from the built-in headset.

  “Nice, Ensign. Thank you.”

  The copilot nodded, smiled, then faced forward as she keyed her microphone. Her voice rung out in the passenger compartment. “One minute. At T minus fifteen seconds I want you all to close your eyes and keep them closed until I give you the all clear.”

  Sarah looked back and the four marines in the group gave her a thumbs up in unison. That made her laugh.

  Marines. I’ve come to love them, Franklin. As you did all along.

  “T minus thirty seconds,” the copilot broadcast in unison with Seto.

  Sarah felt the muscles in her back begin to ache as the stress built up. The FTL missiles on the Schein varied from one hundred kilotons to four megatons. She hoped Orson had loosed a small one, not that it would matter if the target was one of the fleet ships.

  “FTL missile, out of highspace!” Seto exclaimed. “Sensors acquiring… the target is Refuge.”

  Oh Harmeen’s gods no. These people are never going to trust us.

  “Target is near Zeffult…”

  “Confirmed…” a different voice said.

  The High Council…

  “T minus fifteen seconds, eyes closed,” the copilot said to the shuttle passengers.

  “Five…four… three… two… one… detonation.”

  Nothing happened on the shuttle. Any EMP effect was abated by the dense atmosphere of Refuge and the mass of the moon itself as the detonation was over the horizon.

  “Shuttle 1A reporting, no damage,” the pilot radioed to the Hinden.

  “The EMP did not breach the atmosphere,” Seto replied. “Refuge’s magnetic field surged out, but flopped right back down. All ships checking in, no damage noted to fleet assets.”