by L. E. Thomas
Austin took a deep breath. “It wasn’t all bad.”
“Oh?”
He smiled. “There was a girl, well, an officer. Her name is Ryker.”
“Pretty name.” She titled her head. “And what can you tell me about her?”
“Well, she’s not from Earth.”
“Really?”
Austin swallowed, his mouth dry. “She’s … well, she’s pretty special, Mom.”
“Have you told her that?”
“I intend to.” Austin looked at his hands. “She nearly died. I was able to save her. She’s one of the officers I saved on Flin Six. I never had the chance to tell her anything before she went to rehab, and I was sent here.”
“I’m so proud of you.” She tapped his hand. “But you need to tell her how you feel. Don’t let it linger. Trust me; life’s too short.”
“I know.”
She stood and stepped over to the kitchen.
“Let me check this fridge and see if there is anything I can make us for breakfast.”
Austin cleared his throat. “I need to contact command.”
Glad for the distraction, Austin walked over to the workbench and fired up the electronics. The equipment seemed archaic compared to what he worked with on Tarton’s Junction, but the simple interface made it easy. The computer rumbled to life, emerald letters flashing across the screen. Brushing away the spider webs, Austin pulled the microphone with the large black wind guard closer to his mouth. He slipped on the massive headphones, heard crackling static.
“Post Nine-One-Nine, this is Base Prime,” a female voice said into his headset. “We have received your activation. What is your SITREP, over?”
Austin leaned forward into the microphone. “Yes, this is Austin Stone, call sign Rock.”
“Reading you loud and clear, Rock.”
“We have two officers, two civilians in need of transport.”
“Civilians? Have they been briefed?”
Austin glanced at his Mom searching the cabinets. “They are no longer in the dark, Base Prime.”
The operator paused. “Understood. Standby.”
Austin rapped his fingers on the workbench. Sharkey said they would get evacuated from this cabin, but he hadn’t said how this would happen. Perhaps the outbuilding had a tube transport? He shook his head. Sharkey would have mentioned it.
“Rock? Do you copy?” the woman said, returning to the radio.
“I copy.”
“Is your position secure?”
“For the moment.”
“You will be evacuated under cover of darkness. ETA: twelve hours.”
Austin glanced at his watch. “I copy. Where is the extraction point?”
“Point A will be the cabin. If something should require it, Point B will be the body of water two kilometers northwest of your position.”
“I got it. Anything else we need to know?”
“Keep transmitting in the event we need to update your transport. Otherwise, stay low and stay quiet, Rock. We are coming.”
Austin’s insides warmed. “I copy, Base Prime. Good to hear. Over and out.”
He leaned back in his seat and took the headset off.
“Here you go,” Mom said, offering a hot cup of coffee. “You must be hurting if you need this half as much as I need mine.”
Austin took the cup, allowing the steam to rush into his face. “You have no idea.”
“There’s some crackers, cans of beans, stuff like that.” She shrugged. “No eggs, bacon or pancakes today. Sorry.”
“Oh, man, wouldn’t that be great?” Austin smiled. “I’m very disappointed.”
“I bet you are. Been a while since we had a breakfast like that together.” She leaned against the counter. “I’ve been thinking about what you said about a medical ship. You know, I don’t have anything here. Since your Dad died … I have struggled to find my way. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah.” Austin thought about what his life in high school might have been like had Dad survived. When he was diagnosed with cancer, the world turned upside down. School and life didn’t matter so much after that. “It does.”
She nodded. “I guess I never hid it very well from you.”
“Mom.” He waited until she looked at him. “You did great.”
She sipped her coffee and turned to the window.
He took a drink and let the warmth run down his throat.
Kadyn slept on the couch, her head tilted back. She must have passed out, Austin thought. Poor thing was overwhelmed. As soon as he was able, he would have to check on her parents or at least have the Legion do so. They owed her that much after being ripped from her house in the middle of the night and then wondering if these mysterious agents, these Phantoms, had killed her parents.
Austin’s brow lowered. At least two agents had fired on Kadyn’s house the night before, possibly more. Nubern said an unknown force had targeted all Star Runners. He didn’t elaborate, but Austin wondered who funded the launching of a massive covert assassination mission to disrupt activities on Earth and other dark worlds in Quadrant Eight. It seemed too highbrow and too expensive for an organization like the Tyral Pirates, even though Dax Rodon and his motley crew had been active in the quadrant since before Austin joined the Legion Navy.
He finished the coffee and decided to walk around the area. Slipping his gun into his jacket, he stepped out into the refreshing mountain air, careful not to wake Kadyn on the way out the door. He kicked through the wet grass toward the shack behind the cabin. Typing his Legion registration number into the keypad onto the side of the shack’s door, an electric ping sounded. The wooden door hissed and slid to the side.
Inside, he found three ATVs and an assortment of tools. He tinkered with the toolbox, wishing he could be as talented as the mechanics on Tarton’s Junction. He searched through tools he didn’t quite understand. The still air and silence of the storage shack surrounded him. He straddled an ATV and took a deep breath, closing his eyes. He relished the moment of peace and milked it for all it was worth.
He strolled back to the cabin. The sun stretched into the sky and burned away the fog, the final white wisps twisting and curling between the thick weeds. He paused at the door and stared into the forest. He heard nothing, not even the traffic from the highway.
Sharkey still slept on the couch, but Kadyn smiled weakly as he entered. She had pulled the blanket around her shoulders and folded her knees under her arms. Mom sat at the end of Sharkey’s couch, just out of reach of his feet.
“Where ya been?” Mom asked.
“I checked out the storage building,” Austin said softly. “We have ATVs back there.”
“Oh,” she said with a grin, “maybe we need to go for a ride.”
“Maybe.” Austin looked at Kadyn. “What do you think?”
Kadyn’s face softened, but the grin faded. “I just want to go home.”
Austin nodded and sat down on the couch next to her. “I know. I’m so sorry about all this.”
“I know you couldn’t help it,” she said, sounding like the Kadyn from high school but only for a moment. “I don’t understand all of it. I keep thinking this is a dream.”
“I understand. We’ll get you back home as soon as we are able. Or we will at least get you to your parents if your house is not okay.”
“The house is okay,” she said quickly. “The fire department got the fire out and saved the house. The fire was just in the front of the house. My parents are fine—I just want go home now.”
Austin blinked, unsure if he understood what she had just said. “You sound so certain of that. That’s good. Think positive.”
“I am certain,” she said, tilting her head to the side. “I checked it on my phone. I barely had any service, but I checked the Atlanta paper’s site.”
His stomach twisted. “You did that? You used your phone?”
Kadyn frowned. “Yeah. Why? Is something wrong with that? You said no calls. ”
; Austin rubbed his face with both hands as he fought the urge to vomit on the floor. He glanced at Sharkey still asleep on the couch. He stood and hurried to the window facing the two-path road.
“When did you do that?” he asked.
“I don’t understand—“
“When, Kadyn? I need to know.”
She blinked. “While you and your Mom were sitting at the table drinking coffee earlier this morning.”
Austin moved to another window, surveyed the view, and moved to the next.
“Austin, did I do something wrong?”
“No communication meant no cell phone use of any kind,” Austin said, moving to another window. “Checking a website on your phone can be traced.”
He pulled his gun out of its holster. “I’m checking the perimeter. Wake the chief and get to the back of the cabin. Now!”
Austin stepped out into the sunlight, but this time the forest did not seem peaceful. It seemed ominous. Every tree concealed a potential attacker. The wind rustled the plants. The blood rushed into his ears, pounding with each rapid heartbeat. He glanced at the pistol, thinking he should have brought something more substantial. Perhaps there was something in the storage building, he thought.
Deciding to cope with the pistol, Austin grabbed Sharkey’s key card and hurried back to the storage building. The door slid open with Sharkey’s card. Austin checked the ATVs, the toolboxes, and the boxes. He didn’t know what he searched for, something didn’t feel right. A shiver crawled down his back like a spider.
He stepped out the back of the storage building, searching the forest again. The two-path road continued deeper into the woods behind the cabin. It must lead to the lake command was talking about, otherwise known as Point B.
Something clicked in the forest. Not a sound of nature, but a metal-on-metal pop.
He tensed, gun facing the ground. He lowered to rest on one knee. Was somebody watching? Or was his mind playing tricks on him?
Minutes passed. He didn’t hear the sound again.
“Stupid,” he said under his breath, sliding the pistol back into his jacket.
And you’re supposed to be a hardened Star Runner of the Legion Navy.
He cursed himself once more before shuffling back to the cabin.
An explosion ripped through the forest. The force sent trees toppling, burning pine needles twirled and fell to the ground in fiery embers. A wave of energy slammed Austin to the ground. He spun backward into the weeds and smashed into the storage building. Pain flashed on his back and legs. He heard the blood pumping in his ears and ringing as he focused to keep his eyes open.
He shook his head, fighting back the darkness threatening to overtake him. He touched his ears, saw blood on his fingertips, and stood on wobbly legs. Smoldering fires burned into his jacket. He tore it off, throwing it to the ground.
The front of the cabin had disintegrated into a burning crater.
Mom.
He yanked his pistol from his burning jacket. Keeping his head low, he sprinted to the back of the cabin. Austin heard laser bolts splatter into the front of the building.
He burst through the back door. Black smoke poured into his face. He lowered to one knee and saw Sharkey, Kadyn and Mom crawling on the floor toward the door.
“Come on! Get out!” he yelled. “Head to the building and fire up the ATVs!”
They coughed and convulsed on their way out. Austin remained at the back door of the cabin, his gun focused through the raging fire. Through the flames, a wavering image of a man materialized near their car in the front yard. Rising from one knee, the man aimed his laser rifle into the cabin as he scanned the area. Austin squinted and watched in disbelief as two more men in similar suits appeared from the woods.
The attackers wore personal shrouds. The men, dressed in a black material like a wetsuit, carried rifles across their chests and dispersed to flank the cabin. He had to do something.
The lead man waved his arm, apparently ordering the other mercenaries around the building to come. Austin tensed, his teeth clenched.
He raised his pistol, his hands shaking. He exhaled, placing his finger on the trigger and fired.
The bullet struck the attacker in the throat. With his eyes bulging, the man fell back, writhing in pain. Austin spun around and leaned against the rear of the cabin. He had done it; he shot a man. Without being able to see it, he knew the man’s life bled out into the weed-filled ground.
Keeping low, Sharkey led the women to the storage building and slipped into the door.
Two of the attackers stepped toward the storage building and into Austin’s field of fire behind the cabin. Austin emptied his clip. He fired wildly, striking another attacker who spun around like a top, disappearing into the weeds. A laser repeater counterattacked, spitting red bolts across the backyard. The mercenaries were no longer worried about using maskers. They were here to kill.
Austin pressed himself to the ground. The attackers did not know his location. The fire concentrated on the storage building.
Laser fire covered the area, striking the cabin, storage buildings, and trees. The world caught fire. Laser bolts sizzled the air from all directions. Austin stuck his face into the dirt beside the burning cabin. After ten seconds, the fire ceased.
Austin lifted his head, his ears still ringing from the explosion. Sweat rolled into his eyes. They would find him first, force him to be a pawn to lure the others into the clearing. Whoever they were, they would kill them all and leave their bodies in the woods.
He clenched his teeth, a sudden rush of energy filling his veins. Grabbing the final clip from his pocket, he slapped it into the gun and waited for the attackers to claim their prize.
Footsteps pressed into the ground near him.
This was it.
More laser fire erupted, filling the air with the distinctive burning sound of laser bolts igniting the oxygen it passed through. This time, however, an engine crackled to life as the lasers fired. Rising to his elbows, Austin surveyed the scene.
Blazing fires completely engulfed the cabin, the heat surging across the clearing and burning his skin. The weeds surrounded him, obscuring him from view. Two ATVs burst through the wooden door of the storage shed, Sharkey at the lead with a rifle in hand. The ash covered his sweaty face. Kadyn wrapped her arms around Sharkey’s waist, her face buried in his back. Sharkey blanketed the area with laser fire, the bolts ripping through the back yard and dropping the mercenaries too slow to dive for cover.
Behind Sharkey, driving like a bull rider unsure if they could hang on to the wild animal, Mom powered the ATV toward him. Austin rose to one knee, his gun still trained on the yard now free of the attackers. Sharkey’s fire had swept the mercenaries into cover for now.
The ATVs screeched to a halt.
“Get on!” Sharkey yelled.
With her skin covered in black ash, Mom shifted back on the ATV, allowing Austin room to drive. Austin slipped the gun into his jacket and limped toward the ATV.
“Where are we going?” he asked.
“Follow me,” Sharkey said, his voice cool.
Sharkey accelerated away from the scene, the woods catching fire and sending plumes of smoke into the sky. Two stray laser bolts exploded into trees as they fled, sending a shower of sparks falling in their path. Pulling back his wrist to accelerate, Austin followed, his vision still blurred from the explosion. His eyes filled with sweat, but he pressed on. Hanging branches scratched at his face and arms as they sped through the forest. Mom gripped his shoulders tightly, her hands squeezing each time the ATV bounced over a dip in the road.
“Hang on back there!” he yelled.
“Yeah!” Mom screamed in his ear. “Thanks for the idea!”
At the crest of a hill, Sharkey turned off the road and stopped the ATV. He slipped off the vehicle, swinging the rifle around in front of him and aiming back down the path.
The brakes screeched to a halt. For the first time on the ride, Austin heard Mom gasping for
breath. He tapped her hand and looked to Sharkey.
“Thought you couldn’t use las rifles on dark worlds,” Austin said.
“Seemed like the thing to do at the time,” he said with a wry smile. “Report me later.”
Sharkey leaned against a tree and surveyed the trail behind them.
“What are you doing, Chief?”
“Making sure you aren’t being followed.” He smacked another power pack into the laser rifle. “Kadyn, ma’am, you need to get on the back of the lieutenant’s ride.”
The magnitude of Sharkey’s words fell across Austin slowly. “You’re staying here,” he said, blinking. “That’s crazy.”
“Needs to be done.” He gestured forward. “This trail leads to the lake. Your ride is coming at dusk. We need to hold out until then.”
“But you don’t know how many of them are back there!”
“Lieutenant, please.” Sharkey lowered his gaze. “You’ll frighten the women.”
He pulled another laser rifle from his ATV and offered it to Austin.
“I’ve never fired anything like this in my life,” Austin admitted.
“No time like the present.” He leaned close, his face softening. “Just remember, shoot and move. Don’t let them get your exact position if you can help it.”
Slipping the rifle’s strap around his back, Austin stared at the trail in front of them as it continued down the mountain. The sun had reached the midpoint in the sky, meaning dusk was still a long way off.
Austin looked at Sharkey. “Phantoms for sure?”
“With that tech? Absolutely.” Sharkey wiped the sweat from his face. “I need to make myself less visible. Get to that lake, Lieutenant.”
“I think we should stay together, chief.”
“I appreciate that, Lieutenant.” He nodded toward the smoke towering high into the sky. “Anyone with eyes is going to see that smoke from our altercation. I doubt these mercs will want to hunt us and dodge the local authorities. We probably bought ourselves a few hours.”
“You think they’re still coming?”
“I know they are. I don’t know who hired them, but it doesn’t matter. With the tech, they’re carrying and the force they’re willing to use, these guys are playing for keeps.” He cracked open a silver container the size of a tuna fish can, revealing a black, tar substance. Using two fingers, he dipped into the sticky goo and smeared it across his face. “I’ll stay concealed here until darkness. Once I’m notified you are clear, I will find my own exit.”