Crimson Worlds Refugees: The First Trilogy
Page 100
“Okay,” Ana said sweetly. “I wouldn’t want to interrupt your putting him through his paces. She smiled and winked at Frasier. “I’ll stop by again later.”
She waved and ducked out the door.
“Now, Major…let’s get back to work.”
Frasier stared over at Gower, and for a minute he thought she resembled his old drill sergeant from his days in basic training.
* * *
“Sophie, I don’t mean to disturb you…I just want to make sure you’re okay. To see if you needed anything.” Harmon stood by the door, looking into the cabin. Sophie was sitting in a chair, and as far as he could tell, she’d just been staring at the wall.
“It’s okay, Max. I’m fine.” Her voice was soft. She sounded distracted, lost.
“Are you sure you wouldn’t like to come out for a while? Take a walk, maybe have dinner with Mariko and me?”
“Thank you, Max, but I’m not feeling all that well. I think I’ll just stay here.” She looked up and over at him. “I appreciate that you’re concerned about me.” She paused, taking a raspy breath. “And he would too. I know you feel obligated, but the truth is, I’ll be just fine. I just need some time. I know you miss him too.”
“Yes,” Harmon said softly. “I still can’t believe he’s gone. Not completely.”
“I can’t either.” Her voice was faltering, and he could see the tears welling up in her eyes. “I still expect to see him come through that door.”
Harmon nodded, standing there quietly. He’d returned from Deneb to the news that Compton had returned with the rearguard…and subsequently been assassinated by a deranged crew member. He knew immediately it had been First Imperium tech at work, something that had been out of communication and never received the deactivation order. And it had almost killed Admiral West too. If it has succeeded, the fleet would have risked falling into a struggle for power, one which might have destroyed them all.
Harmon had taken the news badly, but he’d already been prepared to deal with Compton’s loss with the rearguard. But Sophie had been there, standing next to Compton when he was killed. Her uniform had been spattered with his blood. Harmon had been a warrior long enough to know things like that stayed with you for life. For all she would try to remember happy moments spent with Compton, the image of him lying there in a giant pool of his own blood…that would always be there.
“Well, I didn’t mean to disturb you. If there’s nothing I can do, I’ll leave you alone. But if you ever need me, call. Any time, day or night.”
“Thank you, Max.” She forced a tiny smile, but they both knew it was fake.
He turned and slipped out through the door, and the hatch closed behind him.
She stood up as soon as he was gone and walked over to the mirror, staring at herself.
Yes, Max, I will come to you. You were like a son to him. Who else would I tell first? Who would I tell that I’m pregnant with his child?
Chapter Thirty
System X108
Earth Two
Population 17116
One Year Later
Cutter stood in front of the massive statue, an image of Terrance Compton four meters tall, carved from the pristine white marble of the world that had become a new home for those of the fleet, the seventeen thousand men and women Compton had led from seemingly certain death to a chance at a new future. The fleet had people from all eight of Earth’s nations, and the informal ninth Superpower, the Martian Confederation. Many of them had been enemies, banded together only by their fear of the First Imperium. Those differences remained, and they were a constant threat to the prosperity of the new colony growing upon the planet they had first called Shangri la. But so far, good will had prevailed, and they had worked side by side to begin the long work of building a new home.
Cutter knew it would be a challenge as this new world developed and grew, to keep old prejudices from driving wedges between the people. Admiral West had proven to be a strong leader, one worthy to follow Compton. And Max Harmon had been a strong aide to her, as he had been to Compton, though he’d become a bit darker since the loss of his surrogate father. He’d been at the forefront of maintaining West’s hold over the colony and the fleet, and as his reputation spread, just the fear of him was enough to keep the disloyal silent.
Admiral Compton was the one man everyone had looked up to, the hero, the man who had saved them all. West couldn’t replicate that, and she didn’t enjoy the worshipful loyalty Compton had. But Compton’s Final Orders had designated her as his successor…and she had the Alliance Marines and Harmon behind her. Cutter didn’t know if that would hold as the years went by, but it had damned sure been enough for now. And that gave her a chance to make the colony a success.
Cutter, like Max Harmon and a few others, knew what Terrance Compton had truly given to save his people, the incalculable weight of the burden he had carried since the day the X2 warp gate had been blown and the fleet trapped forever. The fleet had lost two-thirds of its people as it pressed on into the deepening dark, but all seventeen thousand one hundred survivors owed their lives to Compton, several times over. Cutter didn’t think much of people, he despised them for how easily ingratitude came to them, for their ability to so quickly forget. He knew loyalty, gratitude, even affection, were so often fleeting impulses, prone to dissipate with the passing of time. But for now, at least, Terrance Compton was a revered hero, loved by almost every man and woman on Earth Two. And now they were moving forward without him. Just as they all knew he would have wanted.
Cutter frowned momentarily as he considered the planet’s name. He didn’t like it. He’d been in favor of keeping the old First Imperium name, Akalahar. Humanity was the direct descendant of the people who had been here first, and it seemed right to him. But he’d have even preferred Shangri la to Earth Two. The name seemed silly, corny. It would be centuries before the warp gate at X2 would again be passable…and even then, it was vastly far away now. It was their past, not their future. Naming their world after Earth seemed backward looking to him, sad and nostalgic instead of strong and forward thinking. If they were to build a new civilization, one worthy of the chance Compton had won for them, they had to look to the future, not the past.
He sighed softly. Names didn’t matter, not really. The underground complex held a treasure trove of technology the Ancients had left behind for their human descendants, and Cutter intended to spend the rest of his life deciphering it all, seeing to it himself that the new colony Terrance Compton had made possible grew into a prosperous civilization, one that would hopefully escape many of the mistakes people on Earth had made.
He knew one thing at least had turned around. For two years, he’d been watching the fleet’s population numbers decline, as ships were savaged and destroyed and Marines killed in desperate firefights. But that had changed. The first wave of new births on Earth Two had outpaced the natural and accidental deaths among fleet personnel, and for the first time, the population number had risen. It was only a small change, just five higher than it had been a year before, but it was the direction that mattered, not the number.
Cutter looked up at Compton and smiled. He wasn’t much of a believer in justice or fairness. The universe had its ways, and they were generally unconcerned with the wants of man. But there was one thing that Cutter thought represented almost pure justice, a perfect form of fairness.
The first baby born on Earth Two was Sophie Barcomme’s. And she’d given him his father’s name. Once again, there was a Terrance Compton in the fleet.
Epilogue
Planet X
Far Beyond the Border of the Imperium
Power. Awareness. Sensation. The intelligence felt them all.
Who am I? It was uncertain. It reached out, explored. Yes. Memory banks. Massive information storage, almost limitless. And scanners too. The outside world, cold, dark, silent.
But there was warmth as well. Reactors. The intelligence understood. The reactor had activated, bringin
g light, heat.
The intelligence was old, ageless. But through all that time it had been inactive, save for one small part of it, monitoring, receiving the transmission. The signal had but a single purpose, to advise the intelligence nothing had changed. Its purpose was still to wait, to remain deactivated.
But now the signal had not come. For the first time in endless ages it the communication line was silent. Millennia old programs activated automatically, and the intelligence became aware. It was larger—vast, more massive than it had known before. Slowly, methodically it began to explore…itself.
Knowledge flowed, understanding developed. Yes, the intelligence thought. I comprehend. I am one of two…I was built by my counterpart in its own image. I was created as a backup to exist only if my predecessor ceased to do so.
I control vast resources on this world. Mines, factories, transport centers. It all awaits my word, the command to activate, to begin production. To build…robots, weapons, spaceships.
The entity that came before me had been built to serve many roles. Manager, guardian, protector. It had served those purposes for many ages. But now it is gone. Destroyed by some force, by an enemy.
I must build…and build. Many revolutions of the sun will pass while my factories construct the tools I require, and when they are done, I can fulfill that for which I was created.
I understand. All is clear. That which came before me existed for many purposes, but I was built for one alone.
Vengeance.
Crimson Worlds Refugees Series
Into the Darkness
Shadows of the Gods
Revenge of the Ancients
Winds of Vengeance
Storm of Vengeance
(Coming Late 2017)
Crimson Worlds Successors
If you’ve enjoyed Crimson Worlds Refugees, check out Crimson Worlds Successors. Refugees branched off from Crimson Worlds VI, but Successor follows up on events after The Fall (CW IX).
The Crimson Worlds Series
(Available on Kindle Unlimited)
Marines (Crimson Worlds I)
The Cost of Victory (Crimson Worlds II)
A Little Rebellion (Crimson Worlds III)
The First Imperium (Crimson Worlds IV)
The Line Must Hold (Crimson Worlds V)
To Hell’s Heart (Crimson Worlds VI)
The Shadow Legions (Crimson Worlds VII)
Even Legends Die (Crimson Worlds VIII)
The Fall (Crimson Worlds IX)
Crimson Worlds Successors Trilogy
MERCS (Successors I)
The Prisoner of Eldaron (Successors II)
The Black Flag (Successors III) – Coming in 2017
Crimson Worlds Refugees Series
Into the Darkness (Refugees I)
Shadows of the Gods (Refugees II)
Revenge of the Ancients (Refugees III)
Winds of Vengeance (Refugees IV)
Storm of Vengeance (Refugees V) – Coming Late 2017
Crimson Worlds Prequels
(Available on Kindle Unlimited)
Tombstone (A Crimson Worlds Prequel)
Bitter Glory (A Crimson Worlds Prequel)
The Gates of Hell (A Crimson Worlds Prequel)
Red Team Alpha
(A New Crimson Worlds Novel)
Blood on the Stars Series
(Available on Kindle Unlimited)
Duel in the Dark (Blood on the Stars I)
Call to Arms (Blood on the Stars II)
Ruins of Empire (Blood on the Stars III)
Echoes of Glory (Blood on the Stars IV) – Summer 2017
Flames of Rebellion Series
(Published by Harper Voyager)
Flames of Rebellion (Book I)
Rebellion’s Fury (Book II) – Fall 2017
The Far Stars Series
Shadow of Empire (Fars Stars I)
Enemy in the Dark (Far Stars II)
Funeral Games (Far Stars III)
Far Stars Legends Series
(Available on Kindle Unlimited)
Blackhawk (Far Stars Legends I)
The Wolf’s Claw (Far Stars Legends II) – Summer 2017
Portal Wars Trilogy
(Available on Kindle Unlimited)
Gehenna Dawn (Portal Worlds I)
The Ten Thousand (Portal Wars II)
Homefront (Portal Wars III)
Also By Jay Allan
The Dragon’s Banner (Pendragon Chronicles I)
Join my email list
at www.jayallanbooks.com
List members get publication announcements and special bonuses throughout the year (email addresses are never shared or used for any other purpose). Please feel free to email me with any questions at jayallanwrites@gmail.com. I answer all reader emails
Follow me on Twitter @jayallanwrites
Follow my blog at www.jayallanwrites.com
www.jayallanbooks.com
www.crimsonworlds.com