Strike Vector - An Aeon 14 Space Opera Adventure (Perilous Alliance Book 2)
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Peter embraced age just as he did imperfections. The body was a temple by God’s design and no one should cast doubt on that by altering it from its intended form. “Very good, Sally. And what are we to do with AI and their advanced machinery?”
She showed a toothy grin. “Destroy them.”
Proudly, her parents clapped and Peter rose up to his feet. “From the mouths of babes do the Lord’s words come to our ears. To my ears.” Now, it was time to perform the full inspection, to witness the reason why he considered this colony his most prosperous.
Peter turned to one of the men standing at his elbow, waiting patiently. “Show me the ships.”
* * * * *
The crowd followed Peter back through the fields. They reached the perimeter road at the edge of the new city, where a car waited for Peter.
He sat inside and lowered the window, smiling and waving at the crowd. Henry, the man he had spoken to on the hill, got into the car with him.
Henry tapped the driver on the shoulder. “Let’s go.”
The car pulled onto the road and Peter rolled up his window as the crowd fell away behind them. They passed newly built residential areas, a hospital, and a large outdoor market.
In the distance, beyond the city, the gleaming strand of the space elevator grew steadily larger. A relic of a bygone age, it was a miracle that Wales’s elevator had not been destroyed in the wars that had ravaged the Hyperborean System centuries ago.
It made this world one of his crown jewels.
Between the residential section of the city and the elevator lay rows of factories and warehouses, and beyond, resting on an open field, were seven destroyer class starships.
The car approached the ships and slowed to a stop. Peter exited, Henry close behind. Another crowd awaited them. This one consisting of the engineers who had built the ships, and the crews who now flew them.
“These are of course just ones we brought down for you to inspect,” Henry said. He wore a red baseball cap emblazoned with the logo of Wales’ engineering corps and took it off as he spoke. “There are one hundred and ninety-four more in orbit. Fully functional, sir.”
Two hundred and one ships to add to his fleet.
“The colony’s been working around the clock for nearly ten years to complete this project. All built by humans and human controlled machines. All computers used for construction, and oh, the ships are well below the minimum processing power for even NSAI to exist,” Henry said as he met Peter’s eyes. “Our heart and soul are in these ships, Master Rhoads. For you, for your mission and our family of systems.”
Henry’s voice was filled with pride and his chest puffed out as he spoke. He held out his hand.
Peter could do nothing but shake it proudly and clap this brother on the back. “Henry Cox, of all the planets and all the generations during which I have traveled the stars, of all the colonies of true believers I have established, yours shines the brightest. All of you! Our mission is one of peace for all humankind. We must continue to spread our message of hope.”
“And if the war comes?” Henry asked.
Peter couldn’t help but give a smile along with his answer. “Then we will be ready to answer the call. We will be ready to push back the tyrannical wave of modified humans and their masters, the artificial intelligences who would shape humanity’s future to their own end. Remember, my friends, those with mods, those with AI in their heads, they might look like us,” Peter shook his head and the crowd booed, their brows furrowed as they leaned into his message, “but they are not us. They are infiltrated, they are the enemy…. And. They. Must. Be. Liberated!”
The crowd cheered and Peter clasped his hands together and looked up at the sky as though he saw something. Maybe some thought he saw God, but Peter saw his own time of reckoning when he would be brought before the throne and his acts would all be sanctified.
With these ships, and the supplies the people of Wales would provide, his own destiny was a step closer to being fulfilled. He took a deep breath, felt the warmth of sunshine on his face and the crescendo of applause from his people. The sound filled him with a sense of purpose—of urgency.
“What of those who stand in our way? Those who don’t believe in your message?” a woman asked; Francine Perry according to the tag on her uniform. “Those who would mock us if we told them the truth?”
“They must be given a chance to repent. That’s what forgiveness and love is about, Francine.” Peter walked through the crowd to reach her and when he did, he placed a hand onto her shoulder.
He gazed into her eyes and in that moment, they became one. He watched her fear melt away to be replaced by a expression of triumph.
“But those who do not repent. Those who stand with the ones who think of us as nothing more than slaves, as nothing more than pawns in their game, those too we must destroy.” Silence fell over the group. Some bowed their heads and while some cheered with victory, their faces tempered with sorrow.
“For now, we pray for them. We pray they’ll receive the message we bring to them. We pray we won’t have to destroy.” Peter raised both his hands up to heaven and led the crowd in prayer.
When he was finished, he saw a woman crossing the field from a pavilion erected near one of the starships. She was dressed simply, her brown curls frosted with grey, her eyes etched softly with crows feet.
She approached Peter and smiled beatifically as she took his hand and addressed the crowd. “Peter, brothers, sisters. The harvest table has been set. It is time for us to celebrate our successes.”
After speaking she angled her head and Peter kissed it.
“My lovely wife, Kate, and I will be honored if you’ll break bread with us. Let us rejoice in the day we have been given with a thankful heart. We are strong, we are one, we are human, and we will be triumphant.”
* * * * *
The dinner had been eaten, and wine had been shared with his followers. Long after the Hyperborean star had set below Wales’s horizon, Peter finally returned to his personal shuttle.
It had been a long day, over eighteen hours speaking with his people, sharing in their successes and victories and extoling them to continue to improve and excel in all things.
He loosened his tie as the shuttle lifted into the air and gazed out at the ships resting on the field. What the people of Wales had built was impressive, but they needed to build more, and he needed to continue his crusade.
Peter had to find more who were willing to serve and die for the cause—the human cause. It was the one thing Peter believed in above all else. Ever since his father had told him about the coming Reckoning, just as his father had before him.
His ancestors had always tried to convince people of the coming doom, it just so happened that Peter was far more charismatic—and much more successful.
He had come a long way. He had built an empire instead of a homestead.
“Things are changing faster these days. Can you feel it?” Peter asked over his shoulder. “New alliances, old grudges returning. I worry about Silstrand. They are close to Hyperborea, they may see what we’ve rebuilt is worth taking. They’re advancing, modifying more of their soldiers, giving them AIs. They’re pushing us toward this.”
Kate, his lovely wife, and bride for generations, approached Peter and rubbed his shoulders. “It’s not all on you, Peter. There are others who carry this burden, too. Or we would, if you let us.”
He stroked her hand. “I would rather see you happy at home, in the kitchen, than out here fighting a war. Maybe taking care of our children.”
“Those days are long past, Peter.”
“Grandchildren, then. The war that is coming? The fire I must bring? It is no place for the woman I love.”
“Or any woman?” Kate asked with a raised eyebrow. “I heard it in your voice, Peter. You might as well come out and say it.”
Peter turned and gripped her arms laying a kiss upon her lips. “Is it my fault I’m old fashioned? I want to take care of m
y love, protect the women in my life. My daughter—”
His daughter. Peter could barely finish that sentence. The mere thought of her opened that old wound, bringing about fresh heartbreak—followed by rage. It nearly unhinged him to say her name out loud.
Kate sighed. “With enough time, enough room…”
“She’ll come back?” Peter laughed. He silenced himself as the door to his cabin opened and his son, David, entered the room.
Kate gave her son a warm smile and kissed her husband’s cheek. “I’m going to retire up front and watch the stars as we approach the fleet. It’s one of my most favorite things, you know.”
That Peter did. He watched her walk away, her skirt swishing side to side. She wasn’t a tall woman, and without her shoes, even shorter. Yet her Peter still couldn’t take his eyes off her until she disappeared out of sight.
When she was gone, and the door had closed and latched behind her, he poured whiskey into two glasses and handed one to his son.
“We have almost everything we need now, except for a few warm bodies, so what’s this about?” David asked.
Peter downed the whiskey. “What needs to be done is a Rhoads mission. Every member of our family stands united except one.” He spun the glass in his hand, watching how the light refracted through the prisms in the glass, creating a rainbow effect on the bulkhead. “If we’re to go to war, to take more systems and settle more colonies, then I need her back here. I need her to stand with her family before my guest arrives, David.”
David nodded and followed Peter with his eyes. “Where do we find her?”
“There’s no way to know, but there are those who do. You must find out from them where she is. What new low-life scum she has taken up with.”
“Don’t worry, Father. I won’t rest until Kylie is back at home with us where she belongs. And if she won’t come…well, that won’t really matter.”
Peter smirked as he poured himself another two fingers of whiskey. “Hallelujah, boy.”
A DISCONCERTING CHAT
STELLAR DATE: 09.17.8947 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Dauntless, dark layer, near Einendart
REGION: Gedri System, Silstrand Alliance
Kylie had told her not to, but Lana decided to check in on Grayson anyway. Rogers was off fixing the shields, Winter was with Kylie on board the Satisfaction, and Lana simply had nothing to do.
She should’ve been nervous with a GFF ship being so close but she wasn’t. If they boarded the Dauntless she’d fight them off. Maybe they could take her if they sent enough soldiers.
Maybe.
She was becoming strong. Lana wasn’t sure if there was anyone that could hurt her. If anyone tried, Lana would have to show them a thing or two about who was boss. Sure as hell wasn’t her father anymore. He’d had his ass handed to him and the only part that upset Lana was that she hadn’t been awake to see it.
She took a step into the medbay and Grayson turned his head toward the doorway to get a look at his visitor. “Hello.”
Lana swallowed and took another step into the room closing the door behind her with one hand, while balancing a tray of food on the other. “I thought you might be hungry. If you can eat, anyway.”
“I don’t hunger but this body does. However,” Grayson tried to lift his limbs, which were held securely in place by straps and steel clamps. “At the moment, I am clearly tied down.”
She slid the tray onto a nearby countertop, and sat on a stool. “Why’d you do it? Take over Grayson’s body like that and try to kill Kylie?”
“Kill is too strong of a word. Subdue. Get to the bridge. Those were things I needed to do. I was—still am—under orders to return you and this ship to Trio. I was only trying to complete my assignment.”
Lana didn’t know if an AI could lie but she felt like this one wasn’t giving her the full story. “You could’ve really hurt her. If I hadn’t come along, you might’ve killed her. I bet her crew wouldn’t be as forgiving as she is.”
“Maybe, but I’m much stronger than them, just as you are much stronger than I. I’ve been scanning you since you walked in.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Who says I haven’t just been working out.”
Grayson blinked and stared up at the ceiling. Clearly her quip hadn’t phased him. He didn’t look at her as he began to speak. “You bleed nano into the air around you. It dies off like skin cells—though at a much slower rate. It’s inert at that point, unable to be reused or reverse engineered. It bears the markers of the S&H Defensive Armaments Corporation; but it’s unlike anything in any of my databases, it is far beyond anything they should have been able to create. There have been rumors that they acquired specifications for ancient technology—perhaps from a lost vault. It would seem that those rumors were true, and S&H has been attempting to weaponize it.”
Weaponized? Her? Is that what Grayson—Jerrod—was trying to say? “So, I’m a weapon?” Lana wasn’t certain what she felt about that. It was scary, but also exciting.
“Not you so much as the nanotech within you. Though it’s impossible to separate the two now. I think you’ll forever be linked. I suppose there’s always death, but that isn’t an ideal escape for you, and many factions will fight over what’s left.”
“I’d like to see them try,” Lana stood with a huff and kicked her stool aside. “I came back from what should’ve been death. I survived Harken, her sick scientists, and I survived getting shot in the head.”
“You were lucky. The next one might seal your fate and condemn everyone on board. If I were you, I’d consider the risks this crew took for you. I’d give myself up before anyone was fatally hurt.”
Lana snorted. “Can’t play a player, Jerrod. I’ve begged and pleaded enough in my life to sense desperation. And pal, you’re desperate as they come.”
Jerrod stretched Grayson’s lips into a thin, awkward smile. “Then ask Kylie about Nadine, a member of the crew. Where she is and how she plans on getting her back. If you think you can trust Kylie or anyone on this ship, you’re the one who is truly desperate.”
Lana didn’t say anything. Instead, she cocked her head and stuck her jaw out. “Winter already told me about Nadine—which you know from the fight at the airlock. That was a pretty pathetic attempt to undermine me, pal.”
“And you’re a sad young girl playing a grown up’s game. If you trust Winter, you’re a bigger fool than I took you for. Knowing who Nadine is, and what Kylie would do to get her back are two very different things.”
Lana raised her eyebrows. “Whatever.”
“When those smugglers offered you the opportunity to take the nanotech out of Silstrand space, they really nailed you, didn’t they? They knew you couldn’t wait to stick it to General Samuel.”
“You would too if he was your father, but if you’re suggesting they used me—”
“Of course, they did. It’s the only obvious answer for what transpired. They used you and when you were caught, they left you to die. They never would have come for you, Lana, you’re just a pawn in this game.”
His words started to sink in and Lana began to feel a lot less certain about herself. “Kylie was right. I never should’ve come here to talk to you, but Grayson stood between those soldiers and me, he would have given his life for me. I guess I care about him, but I sure as hell don’t care about you.”
Lana stormed out of the medbay, closing the door behind, her and leaning against it. What had she been thinking going in there? Jerrod would do anything he could to sway her—she was the one thing keeping him in check.
A clang sounded nearby and Lana started.
Thank the stars. Lana could really use a friendly face.
Lana said, and it was true, but already she felt the need to itch. If there was any truth to what Jerrod had said about Kylie doing anything to ge
t Nadine back…she needed to find out what Kylie was prepared to do.
A NEW MISSION
STELLAR DATE: 09.17.8947 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Dauntless, dark layer, near Einendart
REGION: Gedri System, Silstrand Alliance
By the time Kylie stepped aboard the Dauntless, her head felt like it was splitting open. Lana was rushing toward her from one direction and Rogers was walking down the passageway from the bridge. She really just wanted—needed—a moment to herself, to regroup her thoughts and just be alone.
“Well, good to see Winter didn’t stab you in the back. Of course, he already did that,” Rogers said as he approached.
“Easy, little man,” Winter said, straightening to his full height.
Kylie stiffened at their fighting. Her head couldn’t take much more. “Not now you two, all right? Winter did his part and kept things moving along. For now, he’s with us.”
“You sure you’re all right?” Rogers asked with a studious eye on Kylie. “You don’t look well. Did they poison you or something? You were over there a long time.”
“I’m fine. Head’s just spinning from everything that’s been going on. I feel like I haven’t had a moment to think since we got to Perseverance…. Damn, that was over two days ago!”
“Yeah, been non-stop. I caught some z’s on the bridge,” Rogers said.
Kylie let out a long yawn before continuing. “Well, things aren’t going to slow down just yet. Maverick needs our help but first he’s giving us some of his own. It’ll help us get Nadine back.”
Rogers rubbed his jaw. “Since when do we help Maverick? If he’s helping us, there’s major strings attached.”
“It’s either this or go back on board and talk to the GFF’s president for a few more hours. She’s as alluring as she is boring, I tell you that much,” Kylie said.