by J. N. Chaney
“Already?” I asked, stopping in the middle of the hall. “That didn’t take long.”
“I suggest assembling key personnel to the bridge, should we require an immediately plan of action, once we arrive.”
“Are you expecting trouble?” I asked.
“Truthfully, Captain, I don’t know. The defense network has no information regarding the current status of Earth, nor do long range scans reveal any activity in the Sol system.”
“In other words, it could go either way,” I said.
“Indeed.”
“Send a message to everyone on Titan. Tell them we’ll be arriving soon and to be ready. I want all pilots ready to fly at a moment’s notice. Tell the rest to meet me on the bridge.”
“As you wish, Captain,” said Athena.
A few seconds later, I heard her deliver the information across all comms, letting every single crew member know that we were about to arrive at Earth. This was the moment we had all been waiting and fighting for. I only hoped it was all worth it.
Freddie and I arrived on the bridge, right after Dressler and Karin. The rest showed up one after the next, with Abigail, Lex, and Hitchens being the last. Apparently, Lex’s class was just getting out when everyone received the call.
Lex was happy to be in the room, making sure to say hello to each and every person.
Sigmond appeared beside Athena, clad in his usual gold aura, and smiling at each of us. “Welcome, everyone.”
“Siggy!” exclaimed Lex, running up to give him a hug.
He laughed, jovially. “Thank you, Ms. Lex.”
“What’s the story, Siggy? We got anything on sensors yet?” I asked.
“We’ll find out quite soon, sir,” he answered before looking at Athena.
The ancient Cognitive flicked her wrist, changing the display to show the inside of the slip tunnel, electric green energy dancing along the walls. Before anyone could react, a blue beam tore into the tunnel, ripping open a tear into the blackness of space.
We watched as thousands of stars blinked into view. Titan pushed through the tunnel, emerging on the other side to a region of space that it had not visited in two thousand years, returned to the system that birthed it.
None of us spoke a word. Not even Lex, whose energy and excitement had calmed to a steady awe as she looked on at the final destination to our long and tiresome quest.
“I am detecting no orbital activity,” said Athena. “All twelve space stations in this system are also inactive.”
“Nobody’s home,” said Alphonse.
The screen moved to show a series of planets, each of them quite dissimilar to the others in color and composition. Their names appeared across the wall, though I had a hard time reading them.
Hitchens stepped closer to the monitor, staring up at the text. “Neptune, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, and Mars,” he said, listing off the planets as we saw them. “Strange names for the worlds of our ancestors, but stranger still that they should feel so familiar.”
There was an asteroid belt, filled with what I guessed were mining facilities, scattered and abandoned. Beyond that, three more planets, only one of which mattered.
A lone, blue world with a single moon floated through the void like a jewel, white clouds filling its atmosphere, floating across continents and storming seas. This was what we had been searching for—the aim of all our struggles.
“There it is,” muttered Octavia.
I felt a hand grip mine, interlocking fingers, and I knew it was Abigail.
“Magnifying view,” said Athena.
The screen zoomed in on the surface, showing one of the continents. I quickly noticed several gray squares across the planet, each of them floating over the continent.
“What in the world are those?” asked Hitchens.
“This is most unusual,” said Athena. “Sensors show fifty-seven of them, each one elevated over one thousand meters above the ground.”
“Are they floating?” asked Freddie.
“They seem to be resting on polymetal scaffolding,” said Athena. “Additionally, I’m detecting very little flora in the soil. Most of the ground is composed of basic nutrients and metals indicative of late-stage terraforming.”
“Are you suggesting that someone is trying to transform the planet?” asked Dressler.
“It would appear so,” said Athena. She turned to us. “None of this was present when Titan departed Earth.”
“Does this mean Earth is uninhabitable?” asked Abigail.
Sigmond shook his head. “On the contrary, the atmosphere is breathable.”
“Please, hold a moment while I perform a deeper scan of one of the facilities,” said Athena. She froze in place, probably due to the last damage Titan received in the last battle, not to mention the strain it had on the core.
“This must be why the Eternals left,” said Octavia. “They destroyed their world and couldn’t fix the decay.”
“That would certainly explain their absence,” said Hitchens.
“Not entirely,” said Dressler. “Athena received a transmission from Earth. Something about Earth being restored. I believe they called it Project Reclamation.”
“The transmission may have been automated,” said Karin.
Athena moved again. “Fascinating,” she said.
“What is?” asked Dressler.
“The facility you are looking at contains an atmospheric exhaust tower, used primarily to create and distribute breathable air to the planet.”
We all looked at each other. “So the oxygen is coming out of those cities?”
“Not anymore. The process has already ended. If I were to postulate, I would guess this occurred at the same time as the transmission I received.”
“The one about Project Reclamation,” said Dressler.
“Correct,” said Athena. “The system must have been waiting to reach this stage before calling all ships to return.”
“What about other life signs?” asked Hitchens. “Are there any animals or insects?”
“None, I’m afraid,” said Athena. “Though, they should be scheduled for distribution during one of the later stages, once the soil is established.”
“Hold on,” I said, shaking my hand at the Cognitive. “Let me get this straight. We flew across the entire galaxy to find this planet, but it’s still being rebuilt?”
“I’m afraid so, Captain, but don’t worry. The planet is still habitable and will soon be restored, although I will need time to study the terraforming process in full. Such work was in its early stages when Titan departed the system. Most of this was only theoretical.”
“Well, it looks like they turned theory into practice,” said Dressler. “It’s outstanding.”
We all stared at the screen in silence for a moment, trying to figure out what to do. This wasn’t what we had expected. Not even close.
“What should we do now?” asked Freddie.
I scoffed. “What do you think we’re gonna do?” I asked, turning to the group. “We didn’t come all this way just to turn around. We’ll colonize this world just like we intended. If it means a little extra work getting the planet ready, then we’ll figure it out.”
“Besides,” said Abigail. “We can’t let the Union or the Sarkonians get their hands on those facilities. We have to protect this place.”
“Is everyone okay with that?” I asked, looking at each of their faces. “It’ll be tougher than we thought, but the prize is still the same.”
Dressler tapped her chin. “The opportunity to study some of the most advanced technology ever conceived? I can’t imagine turning that down.”
“That goes double for us,” said Octavia, looking at Hitchens.
“Just because it’s half-finished doesn’t mean it isn’t Earth, right?” asked Freddie.
“The people have spoken,” said Abigail.
Lex stepped closer to me. “Are we going there?” she asked, pointing to the planet.
“Is that what you wa
nt?” I asked, looking down at her. “You’ll finally get to play outside and get off this dusty ship.”
She thought for a second, scratching her ear. “I don’t care where we go as long as you and Abby go, too.”
Abigail and I looked at each other and smiled. “Don’t worry, Lex,” I assured her. “We’re all sticking together, no matter what happens from here on out.”
The little girl smiled. “Then, I want to go, Mr. Hughes! I want us all to go and wake it up.”
Everyone laughed, which made Lex even happier, and she held onto me and Abby both, squeezing us with all the strength she had. “That’s a fine way to put it,” Abigail said, beaming a smile at me. “What do you say, Mr. Hughes?”
“I’m with the kid,” I said, looking back up at the image of the Earth. “Let’s prep ourselves a ship. We’ve got a planet to wake up.”
Epilogue
I stood beside Abigail, staring out across the clouds at the world we had traveled half a galaxy to find. The Earth was all before us, a shell of its past, but ours nonetheless.
The journey to reach it had been difficult, filled with gunfire and violence. I had taken it for the money, agreed to the rest of it on the promise of more, but none of that had come to pass. In its place, I had discovered the truth, but perhaps more importantly, I’d found myself a crew.
I’d found myself a home.
It was a tradeoff I would gladly take again, given the opportunity.
“This is quite the view,” said Abigail. A light breeze swept her hair away from her eyes. “You can barely see the ground from here.”
“If it’s ground at all,” I said, referring to the terraformed soil far beneath our feet.
“It will be when we’re done with it,” she answered, a determined smile on her face.
“You sound pretty confident about that,” I said.
“We’ve come this far, haven’t we?” she asked. “We can do the rest. We’ll just have to put everyone to work. This colony won’t start itself, right?”
I snickered. “It sounds like you already have a few ideas.”
“I may have had a thought or two,” she said, smiling.
“You had a thought?” I asked. “I’m listening.”
She leaned close and touched my arm. “New colonists.”
“Colonists?” I asked, pausing a moment to imagine the possibility. “There’s a thought.”
“I don’t know where we would even look, but there must be people out there hoping to start fresh. We can offer them something that no one else can. We just need to figure out where they are.”
“The Deadlands,” I said, instantly. “The Union and the Sarkonians are constantly attacking them, always making claims to other folks’ homes. The border colonies are filled with families looking to leave, but they don’t have the money or the manpower.”
“With enough help, we can get this planet going in no time,” said Abigail. “But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We still have so much to do!”
I smiled and placed my hand around her waist. “One step at a time, Abby,” I said, looking beneath the parting clouds. “For now, what do you say we go and see what’s down there?”
Jace, Abigail, and Lex will return in RENEGADE DAWN, coming July, 2018.
Read on for a special note from the author.
Author Notes
We’re finally here! The end of the first Renegade arc has arrived. At long last, Jace and his crew have made it to Earth, but it’s not quite what they expected. Instead of the beautiful blue and green planet we all know and love, they’ve found something very different: a partially terraformed world. Still, that’s not going to stop Jace and Abigail from trying to start a new colony of their very own. But what secrets does the Earth hold for our band of rebels? What will they have to do in order to bring life back to the planet? And what exactly happened to the Eternals?
All of these questions are going to be answered soon as we press forward into the next major story arc, beginning with Renegade Dawn, which should release in July.
This year is going to be a very busy one. I’m planning to release four additional Renegade books (books 7-10), a Renegade spinoff series, as well as one or two non-Renegade stories, one of which will be cowritten with my editor (think Dune, but more military scifi). Of course, none of the extra stuff will slow down Jace’s adventure, so don’t worry. They will continue releasing at a steady pace for the foreseeable future.
That being said, I’m planning to host my first livestream Q&A shortly after releasing this book, with more planned in the future. These streams will be hosted on Facebook in the reader group, so if you haven’t joined yet, I suggest doing so as soon as you can. You can ask me questions about the Renegade books, future projects, older stories, writing, or anything else you might want to know. I would’ve done this sooner, but I wanted to wait until the first arc of this series had finished. It just felt like a good point to pause and catch up with everyone.
As for Renegade Dawn, this is a story I’m extremely excited about. If you’re a fan of colony stories or you enjoyed the discovery aspects from the previous books, you’ll probably like where things are headed.
Until next time, Renegades,
J.N. Chaney
PS. Amazon won’t tell you when the next Renegade book will come out, but there are several ways you can stay informed.
1) Fly on over to the Facebook group, JN Chaney’s Renegade Readers, and say hello. It’s a great place to hang with other sarcastic sci-fi readers who don’t mind a good laugh.
2) Follow me directly on Amazon. To do this, head to the store page for this book (or my Amazon author profile) and click the Follow button beneath my picture. That will prompt Amazon to notify you when I release a new book. You’ll just need to check your emails.
3) You can join my mailing list by clicking here. This will allow me to stay in touch with you directly, and you’ll also receive a free copy of The Amber Project.
Doing one of these or all three (for best results) will ensure you know every time a new entry in The Renegade Star series is published. Please take a moment to do one of these so you’ll be able to join Jace, Abigail, and Lex on their next galaxy-spanning adventure.
Preview: The Amber Project
Documents of Historical, Scientific, and Cultural Significance
Play Audio Transmission File 021
Recorded April 19, 2157
CARTWRIGHT: This is Lieutenant Colonel Felix Cartwright. It’s been a week since my last transmission and two months since the day we found the city…the day the world fell apart. If anyone can hear this, please respond.
If you’re out there, no doubt you know about the gas. You might think you’re all that’s left. But if you’re receiving this, let me assure you, you are not alone. There are people here. Hundreds, in fact, and for now, we’re safe. If you can make it here, you will be, too.
The city’s a few miles underground, not far from El Rico Air Force Base. That’s where my people came from. As always, the coordinates are attached. If anyone gets this, please respond. Let us know you’re there…that you’re still alive.
End Audio File
April 14, 2339
Maternity District
MILES BELOW THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH, deep within the walls of the last human city, a little boy named Terry played quietly with his sister in a small two-bedroom apartment.
Today was his very first birthday. He was turning seven.
“What’s a birthday?” his sister Janice asked, tugging at his shirt. She was only four years old and had recently taken to following her big brother everywhere he went. “What does it mean?”
Terry smiled, eager to explain. “Mom says when you turn seven, you get a birthday. It means you grow up and get to start school. It’s a pretty big deal.”
“When will I get a birthday?”
“You’re only four, so you have to wait.”
“I wish I was seven,” she said softly, her thin black hair h
anging over her eyes. “I want to go with you.”
He got to his feet and began putting the toy blocks away. They had built a castle together on the floor, but Mother would yell if they left a mess. “I’ll tell you all about it when I get home. I promise, okay?”
“Okay!” she said cheerily and proceeded to help.
Right at that moment, the speaker next to the door let out a soft chime, followed by their mother’s voice. “Downstairs, children,” she said. “Hurry up now.”
Terry took his sister’s hand. “Come on, Jan,” he said.
She frowned, squeezing his fingers. “Okay.”
They arrived downstairs, their mother nowhere to be found.
“She’s in the kitchen,” Janice said, pointing at the farthest wall. “See the light-box?”
Terry looked at the locator board, although his sister’s name for it worked just as well. It was a map of the entire apartment, with small lights going on and off in different colors depending on which person was in which room. There’s us, he thought, green for me and blue for Janice, and there’s Mother in red. Terry never understood why they needed something like that because of how small the apartment was, but every family got one, or so Mother had said.
As he entered the kitchen, his mother stood at the far counter sorting through some data on her pad. “What’s that?” he asked.
“Something for work,” she said. She tapped the front of the pad and placed it in her bag. “Come on, Terrance, we’ve got to get you ready and out the door. Today’s your first day, after all, and we have to make a good impression.”
“When will he be back?” asked Janice.
“Hurry up. Let’s go, Terrance,” she said, ignoring the question. She grabbed his hand and pulled him along. “We have about twenty minutes to get all the way to the education district. Hardly enough time at all.” Her voice was sour. He had noticed it more and more lately, as the weeks went on, ever since a few months ago when that man from the school came to visit. His name was Mr. Huxley, one of the few men who Terry ever had the chance to talk to, and from the way Mother acted—she was so agitated—he must have been important.