by JN Chaney
Shit, I thought. “That’s definitely hostile.”
“I do not believe Titan’s shield can withstand an attack by such an entity. We are still not at full power. I will be unable to return fire.”
“What are we going to do, Captain?” asked Hitchens.
“We have to get out of here,” I said. “Athena, how fast can this ship move? Can we outrun them?”
“Titan can only move at one-tenth the speed of light with its primary engines. The only viable solution would be to use slipspace.”
“There’s no slip tunnels in this system,” I said.
The screen behind Athena showed The Galactic Dawn dispersing its strike ships. “Tunnels?” asked Athena.
“Slip tunnels!” I answered. We were running out of time.
“Ah, you are referring to preexisting passages,” said Athena. “Please, observe.”
She froze in place, but only for a second, and the screen behind her changed, showing the section of space ahead of Titan.
A rift appeared, slicing through the empty void like a knife mark, revealing the inner green light of the slipstream. “A tunnel?” I asked, staring at it. “There was one here this whole time?”
“I don’t quite understand,” said Hitchens.
“It seems your people have forgotten a great many things in the time since your ancestors left my side, Jace Hughes,” said the cognitive. “I can not only open existing slipstream tunnels; I can create them.”
Titan pushed forward, though only a little, and suddenly we were there, inside the newly-created tunnel.
I looked at the other screen, which showed the area behind us. The Galactic Dawn was moving, too, no doubt trying to make its way inside the tunnel. Before it could, however, the rift closed, immersing us in the inner bands of slipspace.
I was stunned by what I was seeing. In all my time, traveling from one section of the galaxy to the next, I’d never seen a ship with the ability to create its own slip tunnels. “Be at ease,” said Athena. “Your enemies will need to find another path if they hope to reach us.”
“Where are you taking us now?” I asked.
“Not I,” she corrected. “What follows is up to you.” She looked behind me, and I turned to see Abigail and Freddie there, with Octavia in her chair. “To all of you,” finished the cognitive.
Lex squeezed between them, forcing her way into the room. She walked up to me and took my hand. I smiled at her without knowing why.
I turned to Abigail. “We came here for a reason, didn’t we? Might as well see this through to the end.”
“That’s right,” she said, taking Lex’s other hand. “We’re not just going to walk away, not after everything we’ve been through.”
“The path ahead will be difficult, despite all that you have accomplished,” said Athena. “The journey is long. Titan is in need of repair and fuel. It will not be easy. Are you certain you wish to continue?”
I nodded. “Let’s do what we set out to do.” I looked at the ancient cognitive, at the woman from across the stars. “Athena,” I finally said. “Set a course for Earth.”
EPILOGUE
I stood inside a small room with Octavia. She had a needle in one hand, a pistol in the other.
If the man on the bed moved more than a few centimeters, she’d blow a hole straight through his brain. If he played nice, maybe I’d keep him alive.
After all, Alphonse had saved a little girl, not too long ago. He deserved to have the option of living.
The Constable cracked his eyes as he awoke, a dazed look on his face. He noticed Octavia’s weapon first, then his eyes drifted to me. He was quick to assess his present situation, as I assumed he would be, so he didn’t bother to ask what we were doing there with a gun pointed at him. Instead, he simply asked, “Where am I?”
I stood at the end of his bed, near his feet. “A lot of crazy shit has happened while you’ve been asleep.”
He started to sit up, only for Octavia to raise her pistol. She gave him a look that suggested if he tried anything, things would get messy. He eyed the barrel, giving her a slow nod, then slid back down so he could look me in the eye.
“We’ll get to all that later,” I continued. “For now, it’s time for the adults to have a conversation, just the three of us. Think you can handle it?”
He stared at me for what felt like a long time, his chest breathing steadily. I couldn’t tell if he was scared or nervous. “What kind of conversation?” he finally asked.
“The kind where you tell me things,” I answered. “The kind where I ask you questions, and if you say the right things, maybe you get to live.”
Alphonse blinked his green eyes, taking a moment to process my request. With a long, quiet breath, he let out a gentle sigh. “Alright,” he said at last. “What do you want to know?”
RENEGADE MOON
ONE
“You sure you can handle this?” I asked, holding a training stick in the middle of a large room.
Abigail gave me a strange look, like I must be crazy to think I could beat her in one-on-one combat. “I invited you down here,” she said, spinning the staff in her hand. “If you’ll remember.”
“I was just being polite, in case you wanted an out,” I said.
“Me? What about you?”
“Don’t worry about me, Sister,” I said with a slight smirk.
She cocked her brow. “You know I’m not a nun anymore, don’t you?”
“Once a nun, always a nun.” I said as she raised her staff, and a small spark lit up on the other end. We were using electrified weapons in order to test the strength of the shield. It was a safer, albeit still dangerous, alternative to actual gunfire.
Abigail bent her knees and took her fighting stance, giving me a slight nod.
I grinned. “Okay, then,” I said, tapping the switch on my own staff. Sparks emitted from the ends.
I immediately rushed forward, swinging the stick in a low sweep as I went for her legs.
She blocked it, pushing the staff aside with her own, then twisted around and managed to strike my shoulder.
“Shield at 98%,” said the voice in my ear. It was Athena’s, the cognitive program in charge of Titan, our present location.
“Shit,” I muttered, noticing the blue flicker of the shield as it appeared over my body.
“Looks like the shield works,” said Abigail, stepping toward me again, extending the stick towards my chest.
I deflected it, but only barely avoiding the electric sparks as they came within centimeters of my shield. With Abigail off balance, I went for another strike.
She dodged out of the way, but I wouldn’t give her time to come back. I swept low again, knowing she’d block it, holding her staff up with mine as she held it across her chest horizontally.
Then, I pushed my stick forward, sliding it beneath her staff, and tapped her directly in the chest.
Sparks collided with the shield as a soft blue layer appeared around her. “Dammit,” she snapped. “96% remaining.”
“2% more than your hit,” I said, winking. “Must be my man-strength.”
“You’re an idiot,” she said, giving me a look.
I ignored her obvious jealousy. “Makes me wonder how many bullets this thing could take.”
She nodded. “Should we continue until the shields drain? We can test ammunition later, if you’d like.”
I responded with a thrust, stabbing at her face with the stick. She blocked it, then tapped me in the leg for a quick hit.
“Shield at 96%,” I heard Athena say.
I pushed her stick away, going for a middle thrust, but she deflected.
She pressed forward on her leg, signaling her next move, so I got ready for it. When she lunged, I brushed her staff aside and grabbed hold of her arm, spinning her around so she fell across my leg.
She caught my wrist with her hand, yanking me to the floor with her, and I let go of the stick in the confusion. She managed to get on my waist, holding h
er stick above my neck, about to press down. I grabbed it, pushing the end. It lowered a few centimeters, causing the shield to flicker as the wood collided with the hard-light.
“Shield at 76%,” said the voice in my ear.
“Give up yet?” asked Abigail.
The staff continued to grind on the shield, creating sparks, so I stopped pushing up and started pushing sideways, letting the stick fall beside me and into the floor. It hit the floor next to my head with a loud POP!
Abigail fell forward with it, giving me the chance to grab her waist and turn her around. We rolled until she was under me, the staff beside us, and her body between my knees.
She tried to get up, but I grabbed both her hands and pinned them above her head. “Give up yet?” I asked, echoing her earlier question.
“Goddammit!” she shouted, squirming as she tried to get out of the armlock. “I had you!”
“That’s twice I’ve pinned you now,” I said, only a few centimeters from her face.
“If you’re referring to the time we first met, that one didn’t count. I was wearing my church garments, if you’ll remember,” she said.
“Fine, but that’s still one to zero.” I jumped to my feet, offering her my hand. “Best two out of three?”
“Deal,” she said, grasping my wrist. “But I won’t lose again.”
* * *
As I walked back from the training area, I couldn’t help but observe the sheer size of this megastructure I’d come to call ‘home’. I could probably have fit several thousand ships the size of The Renegade Star inside this station, although I couldn’t be sure.
I’d been here for nearly three days, but still hadn’t had the chance to explore much of this place. It was vast and empty, but still full of passages and secrets. Given enough time, I wondered how much loot I could salvage.
I snickered as I passed through an open archway, into another corridor. This one had a garden lining its sides. Varying kinds of flowers of all colors and shapes, herbs and plants. It gave the otherwise spartan layout a bit of life, something that, for the most part, seemed to be lacking in other areas of Titan.
“Captain,” came a voice from above. Athena instantly manifested in front of me, taking me by surprise.
“Holy shit,” I said, throwing my hand up at her. “Say something before you go leaping out in front of people like that.”
“I apologize,” she said, bowing her head, slightly. “Although, I did say ‘Captain.’”
I paused. Had the fancy computer program—no, the Cognitive—just given me a bit of sass? “Just tell me what you want, Athena.”
She smiled, pleasantly. “Yes, sir. I wanted to let you know that I have restored access to the bridge and would prefer to convene there.”
“Not now,” I said, fanning my hand. “I need a shower.”
“Understood. When you’re ready, Captain.” She disappeared, fading completely out of sight.
I continued on my way, hearing laughter from further down the hall as I drew closer to the next turn.
Lex, as usual, was playing in the garden dirt, while Freddie sat nearby, reading on his pad. “Mr. Hughes!” called the little girl when she saw me.
“Hey, kid,” I said, nodding.
Freddie looked up and smiled. “Back from sparring with Sister Abigail? How did the test go?”
“They’re good, but there’s a limit to them. We can only take so many hits before they drain.” I crossed my arms. “I kicked her ass, too, in case you were wondering.”
“Impressive! She’s quite the fighter,” he said, a genuine look of astonishment on his face.
Lex held up a clump of dirt. “Mr. Hughes, you wanna play with the flowers?”
“Not particularly,” I said, continuing my walk. “But you have fun in the dirt, kid.”
“Thanks, Mr. Hughes!” she said, far too excited about flowers and dirt than anyone ought to be.
After leaving them, I made my way to the landing dock where my ship, The Renegade Star, waited for me.
There was no one here, not since everybody moved into Titan. My entire crew had taken rooms that were more spacious and luxurious than the quarters they used on my ship. I couldn’t say I blamed them. Besides Abigail and Lex, none of them had to bunk together anymore. They all just wanted to stretch out and relax for a change, which was only natural, but I couldn’t do the same. I had to stay close to my ship, just in case.
“Welcome back, sir,” said Sigmond as I entered the lounge. His voice came through the speaker system.
“Glad to be back,” I muttered, heading straight to my room.
“Is there anything I can do for you, sir?”
I took my shirt off. “Start the shower, would you? I’m beat.”
I stood beneath the steaming water as it hit my scalp and ran along my neck and chest. I lathered up my chest with a dab of shampoo, then closed my eyes under the flowing, hot water. Over the last few weeks, I’d gone from being a lone Renegade smuggler and thief to a fugitive on an ancient megastructure searching for a mythical lost Earth, all the while being chased by two different, formerly opposed militaries that I’d somehow managed to unite against me.
If things got any more complicated, I might just have to get drunk.
Actually, now that I thought about it, that didn’t sound like a terrible idea.
I turned the valve on the shower and proceeded to use the air-dryer. When I was dressed, I took my happy ass to the lounge and poured a cup of whiskey, then sat on the sofa and propped my feet up on the nearby table.
After grabbing a drink and dropping down on the sofa, I let out a long sigh. “Ah,” I said. “That’s what I was missing.”
“Captain Hughes,” said Athena. Her voice came from all around me, like she was everywhere. That was because of the artifact we’d brought with us, an old communications device known as a turn-key. I’d kept meaning to move the damn thing off this ship, but somehow it kept slipping my mind. “Captain Hughes, please respond.”
“What do you want?” I asked.
“We’re coming out of slipspace in fifteen minutes. Your presence is requested on the bridge.”
“For what? Haven’t you been managing this giant ball for two thousand years on your own? What do you need me for?”
“I believe it would be best to show you, Captain. I’ll see you shortly.”
“You hear that, Siggy? I can’t catch a break,” I said, raising my hands in frustration.
“A pity, sir,” said the A.I.
“You know, Siggy,” I said, getting to my feet. “Sometimes I wish it was just you and me again, out for ourselves, living the good life. All this responsibility is killing me.”
“Shall I prime the engines and set a course, sir?” asked Sigmond.
I paused, thinking for a moment. “No, better not,” I finally said. “Let’s see where this whole thing takes us.”
“As you wish, sir. I shall follow your lead.”
I walked through the ship’s airlock, out into the landing platform. “I’d expect nothing less, Siggy.”
TWO
“Welcome, Captain,” said Athena, who was already in her hard-light form, standing near a large monitor along the far wall.
Abigail was there, too, a new outfit on and with her hair up. “Impressive, isn’t it, Jace?”
“Hello to both of you,” I said, having a look around. The bridge was smaller than you might imagine for a ship as large as Titan, but still pretty damn big. The ceiling stood at about ten meters, and there was enough space here to hold what must have been three dozen workstations.
Not that anyone used them. This entire ship was empty, except for me and my crew. It was far too much space for just eight people.
Was my crew eight now? Actually, I hadn’t stopped to consider whether or not Camilla and her father, Bolin, qualified yet. I guessed they must, since they were here. Where else could they go? The Sarkonians and the Union would only hunt them down and try to use them as leverage against m
e, just like they did before.
No, I was stuck with those two, the same way I’d been stuck with Abigail, Lex, Freddie, Hitchens, and Octavia.
I smirked. Go figure. I tried going solo and it only brought me a crew.
“Not all systems are fully restored yet, I’m afraid,” said the Cognitive.
“Honestly, I’m surprised this ship is still standing after…how long did you say?” asked Abigail.
“Two thousand years, approximately,” answered the Cognitive.
I whistled. “Long time.”
“Were there many of these passengers?” asked Abigail.
“Oh, yes,” the Cognitive answered. “In fact, I carried a supply of over one million inhabitants.”
“A million?” I asked, dropping my jaw. “There’s no way.”
“Indeed, Captain. This vessel was once quite lively. Such a population could not last indefinitely, of course. Once our power core was depleted, we had no other option but to stop and begin the refueling process.”
“Where did all these people go?” asked Abigail.