by Jaxon Reed
“Incoming call. Priority override.”
Wow. Priority override, I thought to myself. Must be important. Also must be Montoya, since he was the only one who knew . . .
Counselor Kotov’s face appeared on the screen.
I elbowed Dee Dee. She grunted in her sleep.
“Wake up, sweetie.”
Her eyes opened and we both stared at Kotov’s image on the monitor.
“I am very sorry to disturb you two, but something has come up that involves you. President Montoya requests your presence at New Texas A and M immediately.”
Dee Dee and I glanced at each other.
“Um, okay. We’re in kind of an isolated place. It may take us a bit to get transportation . . .”
“I’m sending transportation for you. Again, I apologize for this intrusion, but it’s imperative you get back here now.”
And so ended our honeymoon.
-+-
Kotov met us at College Station and rushed us off to the Administration Building in a limo. She marched us into President’s Montoya’s office, where the triplets stood with troubled looks on their faces. Two military officers were in the room: LeBlanc and Moore.
I waved at the triplets and nodded to the officers.
“General LeBlanc. Captain Moore.”
She pointed to an emblem on her uniform.
“It’s ‘Major,’ now. I got promoted.”
“Oh! Congratulations.”
President Montoya cleared his throat.
“Sorry to interrupt your honeymoon, but we have two important bits of news. Jacob, why don’t you get them up to speed about State communications?”
Jacob nodded, and turned toward us.
“So, about the quantum communicator we found. All messages received and transmitted were encrypted. We finally had a major breakthrough while y’all were gone, and most of the messages have been deciphered.
“The big news is, basically, the Revolution spread.”
Dee Dee gasped. My eyebrows shot up.
“How many planets?”
President Montoya took over.
“All of them, from what we can tell. Even Old Earth and Asiana, although the State remains strongest on the inner planets. In fact, we think the State maintains control on several planets in the string, but on many more, maybe most of them, they have lost considerable ground to the Universities.”
Dee Dee and I looked at each other, and smiled.
“That is awesome,” she said.
“It’s been a monumental struggle,” President Montoya continued. “From what we can tell, reading between the lines in the deciphered communiqués, the State is growing desperate. The controlling bureaucracies do not believe they can win this conflict without serious intervention.
“Unfortunately, that’s where you two come in. Please continue, Jacob.”
“Yeah. So, we think their forces are severely depleted. They favor using the Galactic Police for conflicts. Those guys and gals are completely dedicated, willing to commit any atrocity, fully willing to die in service to the State.
“Of course, they have been dying, in droves. On every planet, when revolution has broken out, they’ve been front and center trying to beat it back. And it’s cost them. GP numbers are way down.
“Now, on our end of the string, as you know, we cut off the State at Janus Twenty-five. All contact down string is closed. All traditional contact. With the quantum communicator, State forces here have been able to keep up with State forces on Old Earth and elsewhere.”
I nodded. That made sense, and really wasn’t news.
“So, the State knows about you and Dee Dee.”
My eyes grew wide in surprise. That certainly was news.
“They know about you. They know about Fred. They know about the idea of weaponizing hematophagia.”
We mulled over the information for a moment.
Dee Dee broke the silence.
“Have they found any of the Scientists from Redwood’s early days?”
“That’s a good question,” President Montoya said. “No, they have not. The Agents in charge of uncovering those individuals were very good at their job. Too good, for the State’s current taste. All have evidently been eradicated or sent to Orange long ago. The State does not have access to any hematophagous subjects at this time.”
A long, pregnant pause. I sensed something else in the wings, waiting to be revealed.
I said, “But . . . ?”
President Montoya nodded. “But, they have a plan to solve that dilemma. One I’m afraid they’ve already acted upon. Major, if you’ll run the projector, please.”
Major Moore flipped a switch on a projector, which reminded me of Solicitor Hu’s from early in the school year. A hologram appeared on the table showing a planet’s surface from space, the sun steadily creeping up and over the horizon.
“This is a recording from Lonestar Two, a surveillance satellite the University has in orbit around Orange. It’s from two weeks ago.”
I nodded, soaking in the tidbit. I knew about Lonestar One, which provided a com link for the team on Redwood to New Texas A&M. Nobody mentioned anything about a satellite around Orange, but it made sense that there’d be one.
The Major pointed to a general area in the blackness of space above the planet.
“Wait for it. There. Did you see it?”
A flash of light appeared briefly. Then it disappeared.
“What was it?”
The Major sighed deeply, and adjusted the projector. The next hologram showed a large black spacecraft floating by the satellite.
“This was taken earlier this morning, about five our time.”
I looked closely at the ship. It appeared to be bulbous in all the wrong places. It also seemed about three times larger than anything I’d ever flown, if I was estimating its scale correctly.
“There are four classes of spaceships for interplanetary travel. I’m rated on all of them. I’ve never seen anything like this. And what’s it doing going from Redwood to Orange?”
The Major took a deep breath, and let it out slowly through her nose, controlling her voice and emotions.
“That’s just it. It didn’t come from Redwood, it’s headed there. The flash you saw earlier, we now believe, was from Janus Thirty.”
Dee Dee and I stared at each other. The consternation on her face must have matched my own.
“There is no Janus Thirty. Janus Twenty-nine, from Redwood to Orange is the last one in the string.”
I stated the rote fact with the certainty of a schoolboy who has never been taught anything different.
Montoya cleared his throat.
“General, do you want to explain things for them?”
LeBlanc nodded and began pacing around the room. He held his hands behind his back, standing ramrod straight.
“Every Janus needs a ‘counterweight’ in synchronous orbit. It keeps things in balance, so to speak. When a new planet is opened, its counterweight Janus remains inactive until the next planet is opened. It then joins with the new ring to become the next Janus in the string.”
“I’m confused,” Dee Dee said. “There’s a planet beyond Orange we don’t know about? They came in from there through Janus Thirty?”
The General shook his head.
“No, there are no planets beyond Orange yet. The scout ship carrying equipment to extend the string to the next habitable planet hasn’t yet arrived at its destination. What they did was take Janus One’s ‘counterweight’ around Old Earth, what you might consider ‘Janus Zero’ in the string, and they connected it to Janus Thirty.”
My jaw dropped.
“What?”
The General nodded grimly.
“The Janus String is now a circle. Old Earth is only two planets away from New Texas now.”
We were stunned. I looked at everybody in the room. The triplets stared down at the floor, their arms crossed. The officers and President Montoya stared back at us, wooden faced.
“So . . . they’re coming for us? That monster-sized ship is headed for New Texas?”
Jeremy looked up, the edges of his lips twisting down.
“No. At least not yet. Not according to the messages we’ve decrypted. They’re headed for Redwood first.”
General LeBlanc nodded. “We believe they’re going to try and capture Fred, and any other hematophagous monkeys they can find on Redwood, and use them to create an army of vampire soldiers.
“On that ship is the last of the most diehard GPs. We believe the State plans to turn them all hematophagous, then use them to take back every planet they’ve lost in the Revolution.”
“An army of vampire soldiers . . .”
My mind reeled with horror.
“They could expand their numbers by infecting other GPs. They’d feed on the populace. Soon they’d see people as nothing more than a food source.”
“We figured pretty much the same thing,” President Montoya said. “The logical consequences of weaponizing your condition helped convince the Board of Regents and the Military not to pursue this very thing the GPs are planning. But, the State is desperate. And somewhere on Old Earth, a group of bureaucrats thinks they’ll be able to control this army once it’s done stamping out the Revolution.”
We sat in silence for a moment, trying to let it all sink in.
Finally, Dee Dee spoke up.
“How do we stop them?”
Montoya said, “We’ve rounded up every spaceship we can get a hold of. At the moment, that’s five ships. We hope to have two more from Athena that are scheduled to land here in the days ahead. We plan on sending those over, too.
“We’ve sent an emergency call out for all able-bodied cadets. The first group is being equipped and loaded onto ships right now as we speak. The first ship leaves College Station in two hours. We want you two on it. It’s a Corvette Class, the fastest one we’ve got. It should reach Redwood about the same time as the State ship.”
“You’ve told Professor Cruz about this, I hope?”
Montoya nodded at me.
“I’ve been on the phone with him all morning. They’ll have a month to prepare. I think the State will find some surprises on the ground when they get there.”
Chapter Fourteen
We stood outside the spaceship docked at College Station, dressed in maroon battle armor along with several cadets. I recognized everybody. We’d all fought together over Christmas Break. Several played on Andrea’s larping team on the weekends. Some had even been to my bachelor’s party a few days previously.
Less than two hours had passed since our meeting in the Administration Building. During that time Dee Dee and I ran by the suite in Price Faculty Hall to pick up a few personal items and some fresh clothes. I checked in with the financial company regarding my assets, and directed them to continue donating to our church every week from my spending account.
At the spaceport we’d been handed armor and weapons. The ship was hurriedly being equipped with food, ammunition, and other supplies for the trip. She was a Corvette Class, meaning of the four types of interplanetary ships she was the fastest. Most of her body consisted of engines, with only a small portion dedicated to passengers and cargo. The faster engines shaved at least two days off a typical trip.
Two other ships docked at College Station were likewise being loaded with supplies. They were larger and slower than ours. An additional two other ships were being outfitted at New Houston’s spaceport. One of those was a Cargo Class, the other one a Passenger Class. They would get there after we did, bringing badly needed supplies and reinforcements.
Somebody called my name. I turned to see six people walking toward us. Jacob and Jason were decked out in maroon armor like Dee Dee and me. Andrea, too. Charlie wore her red cross Medic’s armor. But Jeremy and Paris were in civilian clothes.
“What’s up? You’re not going with us?”
Jeremy shook his head.
“Somebody’s got to stay behind and monitor enemy communications. We’re among the few who halfway understand the quantum communicator and its encryption scheme. So, I volunteered to stay.”
I looked over at Jacob and Jason. They did not make eye contact with either Jeremy or me. I figured they were not happy with Jeremy’s decision.
“I see. Well, hey, look after the penthouse for me while we’re gone.”
Jeremy nodded. “Will do.”
We all started hugging and saying goodbye to Jeremy and Paris. The girls wiped back tears. Jacob and Jason solemnly shook Jeremy’s hand.
“You sure you don’t want to come with us?” Jason asked.
Jeremy nodded. “I’m good. I’ll hold things down on this end.”
“We’ve never been apart, brother. Doesn’t seem right.”
“It’ll be okay. Y’all go on. Stay near Marc and don’t get yourselves killed. Say hi to Mom and Dad for me, when you get there.”
Sergeant Sledge came out of the spaceship’s doorway about that time. He took a long draw from his stogie, then tossed it away. The foul cigar twirled and rolled down the tarmac.
“Awright ya Nancies. Time to get onboard the Redwood Express! We got some monkey-lovin’ GPs to meet and greet!”
Everybody clad in maroon armor began moving into the ship.
A limo roared up and stopped near us. President Montoya, General LeBlanc, and Major Moore stepped out.
The Major was dressed in maroon armor and carried a duffel bag.
Jacob and Jason were the last ones boarding the spaceship. The Major fell in line behind them.
“Got room in there for me, Sergeant?”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Jason turned around and smiled.
“We’ve always got room for one ‘Moore,’ Major!”
“Shut it, O’Donnell.”
Soon Dee Dee and I, along with Jeremy and Paris, were the only ones left on the tarmac with Montoya and LeBlanc.
The General leaned in toward me, and lowered his voice.
“Listen, I understand you can fly this thing if you had to.”
I nodded.
“That’s right.”
Spaceships are practically idiot-proof. With hundreds of years of programming and engineering behind them, they were designed to fly themselves from planet to planet, with no human input. However, some Servants of the State were trained as pilots to take over for those one in ten thousand instances in which human intervention actually was needed. I had been one of those Servants.
“Good, good. We’ve outfitted it with some external guns and a couple other surprises. If possible, when you get there, we’d like you to try and take out that ship from Old Earth. Major Moore knows all the details of our modifications and can fill you in en route. But be careful. We don’t know what thing is armed with. And Old Earth has a lot better technology than what they’ve allowed the outer planets to have.”
I nodded.
“We’ll see what we can do.”
Finally, President Montoya came forward and shook our hands.
“Diane, say hello to your father for me.”
“Yes, sir. I will.”
He shook my hand last. He held it for a moment longer.
“Godspeed, Marcus. Godspeed.”
I walked into the ship behind Dee Dee, stopped and waved one last time to Montoya, LeBlanc, Jeremy and Paris. Then I went through the door.
Sledge pulled it shut behind me.
“You ready, Mr. Savitch?”
“I’m ready, Sarge. Let’s go kill some bad guys.”
BOOK III
Redwood: Battle Cry
Chapter One
A distant speck on the scanners grew bigger as we orbited around Redwood.
We’d ported through the Janus ring twelve days previously, our Corvette Class ship granting us extra speed as we raced toward the planet.
Now that we neared the atmosphere’s periphery, I had our ship’s computer look for the other spacecraft, the one from Old Earth carrying elite
Galactic Police troopers. If we timed it right, I thought, we should be getting there about the same time.
Sure enough, our computer found the other ship. Now we raced over 17,000 miles per hour straight toward it.
“I’m going to have to initiate a braking sequence, or we’ll shoot past her.”
Major Moore nodded, ebony skin stretched tight across her face.
Behind us all the cadets from New Texas A&M, along with Jacob, Jason, Andrea, Charlie, and my wife Dee Dee, stood crowded near the navigation screen. We watched while a speck on the horizon grew noticeably larger, the outlines of a large ship growing as we watched.
We had lived together in close quarters for nearly a month. A Corvette Class ship doesn’t have much passenger or cargo space. Engines comprise the majority of its bulk, unlike typical cargo ships. But that didn’t matter to us at the moment as everybody crowded around the screen.
I overrode the standard landing procedure, and told the computer to initiate orbital braking. We slowed perceptibly.
Sergeant Sledge elbowed his way through the group of cadets. He looked a little older, and more grizzled since we’d left New Texas. As usual, he chomped on an unlit stogie.
“You’ve been briefed on our enhancements.”
He made it a statement, not a question.
I nodded.
“Good. Get near enough and can let ’em have it.”
We pulled into closer proximity of the other ship, slowing all the way. Details grew sharper in the daylight, Redwood’s sun shining brightly on this side of the world.
The Old Earth ship loomed larger in the monitor, black with bulbous protrusions. It looked very much unlike typical planetary ships. Those travelled throughout the Janus String, jumping through Janus rings on years-long journeys from Old Earth to Orange and back. They were functional, virtually maintenance-free, and relatively small. This ship was big. Very big.
I had never seen anything like it. None of us had.
I pulled our corvette to a stop, and the big black ship filled most of the screen. We stared at it with a sense of awe.
Most of us on the outer planets never make it back to Old Earth. Typically, we live and die on our birth planets. A handful travel to others close by in the string, but space travel is expensive. Only the rich can afford to become tourists, hopping among the worlds, trying to see them all.