The Ninth: Invasion

by Benjamin Schramm

  “Not bad? Are you kidding? He’s six short of two hundred even,” Angela said, leaning toward Cain. “I wouldn’t mind having that kind of spending money.”

  Cain smiled frostily at her as he started dealing.

  “That’s it for me,” Brent said, standing up.

  “Not going to give us the chance to win back our credits?” Miss Carrero asked.

  “Perhaps tomorrow. I did enjoy the game. Thank you for joining at the last minute.” Brent bowed like the tripod to Miss Carrero.

  As soon as he finished, he realized what he’d done. He fought the urge to smack his forehead. Why couldn’t he just salute like the others? Miss Carrero stared at him, obviously uncertain how to respond to the elaborate bow. Before the embarrassment could set in, Penny abruptly jumped to her feet and dashed off down the corridor.

  “Wonder what she’s up to?” Mr. Springate asked.

  “Who cares?” Robert asked irritably. “We going again?”

  “I’m game,” Mr. Springate said, taking Brent’s chair.

  Brent shrugged and started down the corridor. Cassandra followed closely behind and tried to conceal a yawn.

  “Was the game really that exciting?” he asked with a smile.

  “What can I say? I had no idea what any of you were doing.”

  “You could have joined the others and gone through the 3P again.”

  “Twice in one day? I like it, but not that much. Plus, I don’t think I’d be able to focus after what happened.”

  “You’re not going to call me a pervert again, are you?”

  “Maybe,” Cassandra said with a warm smile as her cheeks reddened.

  “Just don’t make a habit out of it. Kindra is probably either apologizing to Sanderson or driving him insane as we speak.”

  “I’d forgotten about them.” She laughed to herself. “You have to admit the nickname suits him perfectly.”

  “I suppose, but remember sunburn Sandra hits the mark pretty closely, too.”

  “Point taken. You know, it’s not fair.”

  “What?”

  “That you can call me names at any time you want, but you don’t have a single nickname. Good or bad.”

  “I never thought about it. You could always call me, sir.” Brent winked.

  “Not going to happen.”

  “Any plans for tomorrow?”

  “So many options . . .” Cassandra put her finger to her temple and pretended to be deep in thought.

  “Like Cain said, it’s a trade ship, not a luxury liner.”

  “Brent?” She paused in the corridor and grabbed his hand. “You haven’t forgotten there is a war going on out there have you?”

  “Not at all.” He patted her hand reassuringly. “Things are probably going to get very difficult and dangerous. That’s why I want everyone to enjoy the next two days as much as possible.”

  “Easier said than done on this ship.”

  “I don’t know about that.” Brent pulled her close. “I think it all depends on the company you keep. The where doesn’t matter so much as the who.”

  Cassandra blushed and kissed him on the cheek.

  “That’s either the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard . . . or you’ve gone stir crazy.”

  They both started laughing as they returned to the bunks. He noticed Penny standing casually outside the doorway. It was obvious she was trying to act natural while she was really up to no good. Humphrey was wedged in his bunk attempting to read something on his pad. Doug was in his bunk and was already starting to fade into sleep. Cassandra quickly climbed the ladder up to her bunk. Brent noticed Marie leaning against a wall, an equally suspicious look on her face. The girls had something planned. He quickly looked around for their third accomplice, but couldn’t find Hiroko anywhere.

  “What the . . . is this some kind of joke?” Cassandra asked from the top of the ladder, peering into her alcove.

  Marie started to chuckle as Brent locked his gaze on her. She returned his stare as her chuckle grew louder. With a start, he quickly checked his own bunk. To his surprise, he found it missing. The metal alcove was only half as deep as it had been that morning. As Cassandra climbed down the ladder she shot a glance at him, h could only motion to the chuckling Marie.

  “Funny, really funny,” Cassandra said with a small sigh. “Now where am I supposed to sleep?”

  Penny quickly entered through the doorway as Marie bounced off the wall with a grin. Marie took Cassandra’s hand as Penny took his. Together the two girls led the pair down the corridors.

  “Where are you taking us?” Cassandra asked irritably. “Isn’t it a bit late for a tour of the ship?”

  “You’ll find out soon enough,” Penny said, trying not to giggle.

  Eventually, the two girls guided them to the cargo bay. The Protectorates were already standing in formation, waiting their arrival.

  “Is everything set?” Penny asked.

  “We may not be troopers, but we were taught by one.” The Protectorate nodded to Brent. “Everything is as you requested.”

  He and Cassandra exchanged confused glances as the girls led them to the far corner of the cargo bay. As they got further from the entrance, Brent noticed the citizens started to thin out. By the time they reached the edge of the bay, he realized the citizens had been arranged in such a manner as to create an empty space around the corner. Releasing their grip, the two girls turned to face the pair.

  “Ta-da!” the girls shouted in unison as they gestured toward the corner.

  Along the wall were massive alcoves where large freight was usually stored. To his amazement, one of the ground level cargo slots was covered by some kind of curtain. The slot was easily larger than the entire room of bunks had been. With a swift, obviously practiced, movement, Marie opened the curtain. Cassandra instantly flushed red. Behind the curtain was a single large bed. It was crudely constructed, most likely made from whatever the Protectorates could find around the ship.

  “What is the meaning of this?” Cassandra asked, without taking her eyes off the bed.

  “I’d think that would be obvious,” Penny said with a smirk.

  “We know all about what happened in the 3P between you two.” Marie had a confident smile on her face. “We thought we’d give you some . . . alone time.”

  “You can’t be serious!” Cassandra’s face was steadily reddening.

  “We figured you would protest, so we took precautions,” Marie said with pride. “You don’t have a choice. We locked down your bunks. Unless you plan on sleeping on the floor, this is your only option.”

  “But . . .”

  Without another word, the two girls grabbed the stunned Cassandra and pushed her behind the curtain.

  “Now you two behave.” Marie bowed to Brent like the tripod. “On second thought, scratch that.”

  Marie winked to him as the two girls quickly rushed out of the cargo bay. He noticed the Protectorates had created a ring around the corner. Each one had set up their sleeping situation at the parameter to ensure the two weren’t disturbed. Brent shrugged as he closed the curtain behind him.

  “You can’t seriously plan on giving in to them?” Cassandra asked nervously from the far side of the bed.

  “They certainly thought this whole thing out. The Protectorates are creating a buffer around us. I doubt we’ll be disturbed until morning.”

  “You didn’t answer my question!”

  “Don’t jump to conclusions or start name calling yet,” Brent said as he suppressed a yawn. “I already planned on sleeping on the floor.”

  “Really?” Cassandra asked while twiddling her thumbs. “You did that last time. Shouldn’t it be my turn?”

  “I didn’t know we were keeping score. In any case, don’t worry about it. I’ll just grab a blanket and a pillow. It’ll probably be more comfortable than our filing cabinets anyway.” He chuckled to himself as he reached for a pillow.

  Cassandra quickly moved and held his hand still.

&nbs
p; “You don’t have to, you know.” She averted her eyes.

  “I already said it was fine. I wouldn’t be much of a friend if I made you sleep on the floor.”

  “I don’t mean that.” Cassandra paused. “You could . . . share the bed with me.”

  “You sure about that? Weren’t you the one protesting the idea of giving into the girls?”

  “Well, we don’t have to do anything.” Her face was a deep scarlet.

  “Are you sure? The floor is fine by me if it’s embarrassing for you.”

  “If you don’t want to embarrass me, then stop asking.”

  Cassandra released him and started preparing her half of the bed, making sure not to make eye contact with him. He accepted her statement and didn’t press any further. Plus, if anyone asked they could always say he slept on the floor; no one need ever know. With a yawn, he got to work on his side. Checking his pocket watch, Brent was surprised at how late it was.

  “What’s that?” Cassandra asked, a hint of trepidation in her voice.

  “It’s a gift from Davis. It’s a pocket watch.”

  “A Master Weaver gave you a gift?” she asked cautiously. “Never seen anything like it before. What does it do?”

  “It tells time.”

  “That’s it?” she asked with more than a hint of relief. “Couldn’t you use your pad for that?”

  “I suppose, but somehow it feels right to use the watch instead.”

  “Would you mind turning around?”

  “Of course! Sorry.”

  Brent quickly turned his back on Cassandra. He could hear the sounds of her changing. He tried not to chuckle as he imagined the embarrassed look that had to be on her face. He wondered exactly how red her cheeks were. His amusement faded as his mind conjured images of the curves that hid under her unflattering fatigues.

  “All done,” she said in a small voice.

  “You know,” he said without turning toward her, “I don’t mind sleeping on the floor if this bothers you so much.”

  “It’s okay. We’ve done this a couple of times before. I just have to keep telling myself that.”

  “True, but those times weren’t by choice. This time is different. Just say so and I’m on the floor. If you want, I’ll even sleep outside the curtain.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. The last thing I’d want is those Protectorates to see you sleeping on the floor outside. The others would never let me live that down.”

  “Suit yourself.”

  Brent readied for sleep, making sure his pocket watch was safe before getting into the bed. He was careful to hug the edge of the bed as much as possible to give Cassandra plenty of space. With them both in the bed, he tapped on his pad a few times before the illumination in the room dimmed. As he closed his eyes, his tiredness hit him. His mind focused entirely on the blissful idea of sleep.

  “Brent?” she whispered.

  “Yes?”

  “Did you mean what you said in the 3P?”

  “Of course I did. You are a very, very pretty girl.”

  “Not that . . . pervert.”

  “I was just kidding. I know what you meant.”

  “Well?”

  “Well what?” Brent chuckled as he asked.

  “If you are going to be that way, then forget I asked!”

  Cassandra rolled over, exaggerating her movements to draw attention to them. He smiled in the dark and tapped on her shoulder.

  “What now?” she asked angrily as she turned to face him.

  “I love you, Cassandra.”

  He kissed her forehead. There was no response. Brent wondered if he had really upset her by playing dumb before. As he closed his eyelids again, he felt a hand snake over him. In the dark room, he could barely make out Cassandra snuggling up next to him.

  “I . . . love you, too.” She held him in the darkness.

  Gentle warmth spread over him as she drifted off to sleep. He would have to thank the girls for setting this up. Thoughts of Eos and the war completely disappeared into the warmth as he faded into the land of dreams.

  “Administer Bloom,” a shrill voice called through the intercom.

  “What is it, Miss Fields?” Nathan asked, trying to keep the loathing out of his voice.

  “There is an urgent call for you from the mess hall.”

  “Regarding what?”

  “I’m your secretary, Administer Bloom, not a psychic.”

  “Do you know who called for me?”

  “No, Administer.”

  “You didn’t ask for any details, did you Miss. Fields?”

  “No, Administer.”

  Thoughts of murdering his secretary filled his mind as he made his way to the mess hall. He thought up no less than thirty distinct methods of eliminating her by the time he arrived. His favorite was putting her in an airtight room and letting her yell at him in her shrill voice until she used up all the air. A bolt of energy zipping out of the mess hall pulled him right out of his fantasies. He quickly hugged the wall next to the doorway and carefully looked inside.

  Several rows of tables had been flipped on their sides, creating a barricade not far into the mess hall. Several young troopers were firing at anything that moved. Off to the side, near the doorway was a small barricade. Nathan quickly recognized several security personal and medics hiding behind the makeshift cover. When the troopers starting firing in another direction, he quickly trotted to the medics.

  “What is the meaning of this?” he demanded as he ducked behind the cover.

  A few pulses of light flew over the table.

  “Word got out,” a weary voice answered.

  “Doctor Benedict?” he asked in surprise. “What are you doing up here? Shouldn’t you be in Medical?”

  “I wish,” she said with an annoyed smile. “Turns out we didn’t do as great a job keeping things quiet as we thought. I was summoned for a medical emergency, then they started firing at me.”

  “They found out about the ITU?” Nathan asked in horror. “I thought we severed all outside links.”

  “We did,” a woman in the uniform of security said angrily. “One of those cursed bookies must have smuggled the information in somehow.”

  “I’m guessing these are ITU supporters?” Nathan ventured.

  “That’s our guess,” Dr. Benedict said.

  “What I’d like to know is how so many of them got together without anyone noticing,” a medic said, ducking when another volley of pulses flew over the barricade.

  “They only have training rifles,” Dr. Benedict said thankfully. “They can’t kill anyone, but they can still do plenty of damage.”

  “Take it from me, you don’t want to take too many hits,” a man leaning against the wall moaned. “It might not be lethal, but it feels like it.”

  “Suck it up.” The medic shook her head. “You only took a few hits to your shoulder.”

  Abruptly, the pulses of light ceased.

  “Is the Administer there?” a voice shouted from behind the large barricade.

  They all looked at him expectantly.

  “I am,” Nathan said nervously.

  “We demand you let us contact the ITU!”

  “To what ends?” he called back. “So you can tell them we are here and have them come kill the rest of us?”

  “If you surrender, no harm will come to you.”

  “Said the trooper shooting at us,” the moaning man shouted.

  A few pulses of light flashed overhead.

  “Brilliant move,” the medic said angrily. “Are you trying to get us all killed?”

  “What did I miss?” a rough voice asked.

  Nathan was so happy to see Jack he wanted to give him a big kiss.

  “These troopers have barricaded themselves and are shooting at anyone who comes in here,” Nathan said in a panic. “They want us to let him talk to the ITU.”

  “Not going to happen,” Jack said with a tone of finality.

  “That’s all well and good,” Dr. Ben
edict said irritably. “But besides being stoic at them, do you have a real plan? Can’t you put those abilities of yours to good use and end this nonsense?”

  “I’ve been trying,” Jack said in a tone almost as irritated at her’s. “They have several Weavers supporting them. I’m having a hard time identifying the culprits.”

  “Administer!” the trooper called out again.

  “Yes?” Nathan asked nervously.

  “If you don’t give in to our demands, we will be forced to take more drastic measures.”

  Nathan looked at the others behind the barricade in panic.

  “What kind of drastic measures?” he asked quickly.

  A high-pitched jingle filled the room. A moment later a metallic tone sounded. Nathan stole a glance over the barricade to find a grenade bouncing toward them.

  “Get down!” he screamed as he dived away from the flipped over table.

  It was too late. The table exploded into hundreds of fragments as the grenade went off. Nathan’s ears rang as he tried to get his bearings. Jack had an odd look on his face. Nathan followed his glance and felt sick to his stomach. Dr. Benedict wasn’t moving with a large table fragment embedded in her side. A small trickle of blood oozed out of the wound.

  Jack stood and walked toward the barricade. The troopers opened fire on him, but he didn’t flinch. The pulses of light streaked around him as he lowered his head and his eyes narrowed. The sound of three pained screams filled the mess hall and the weapons fire ended. Three young Weavers stumbled out from behind the barrier, wailing in terror. Jack stared at them with murder in his eyes. The three continued to writhe on the floor until they passed out. The rest of the troopers stood and raised their hands in surrender, but Jack wasn’t finished. The assembled troopers started to quiver as he worked on them. Several collapsed to their knees while others broke into tears.

  “That’s enough, Jack,” Nathan called out. “We have more important things to attend to!”

  Jack paused for a moment and then turned back toward his friend.

  “We have to get her to Medical,” he pleaded. “Now, Jack.”

  With a brutally swift motion the Master Weaver pointed at two of the surrendering troopers. They shook openly.