The Heights of Perdition

by C. S. Johnson

  He hit the button with more force than needed, but he felt it was justified.

  “What is happening?” Aerie asked.

  “Hang on.”

  The elevator came a moment later. Once the doors shut, the noise was instantly dimmed.

  “Whew,” Aerie said. “That was loud.”

  “Things are always louder in the hangar,” Exton said. “Something about the echoes.” He ran his fingers through his hair.

  “Is everything okay?”

  “I don’t know. It’s late. We don’t have drills this late.” He shook his head. “We only have a few moments of warning if the URS is going to attack.”

  “But why would they attack now?” Aerie asked. “I know we’re getting closer to Earth, but at this location we’re in more of their blind spot, since we’re coming in closer to the southern pole.”

  “That’s exactly what has me worried,” Exton said as they stepped up to Level One on the Command Bridge.

  “Sir,” Jared called. “It’s a Redbird, Foxtrot-Tango-Kilo, approaching from over the Old Fed airspace.”

  It was funny how, even after years of stagnancy, it was second nature to jump in on a battle call. Even one with the worst timing possible.

  He glanced over at Aerie, allowing himself one last moment to enjoy her closeness. He would have to call Tyler to get Emery to come and take her down level.

  “Call our Vet Quarters, see about getting Rhodey or Felix down in the XCR,” Exton ordered. “Tell them it’s a Code AAB, no drill, and we need a four-oh response. That should get them moving quickly enough.”

  “Yes, Captain.” Jared saluted and hurried away.

  “See if you can get Miguel, too,” he called. “We might need more than two at the controls down there.”

  “On it!” Jared replied.

  Aerie reached over and put her hand on his arm. “What is it?”

  There was something in him that was wired for weakness at the sight of her eyes. “We’re under attack, by all indicators.”

  “By the URS? Osgood’s attacking us?”

  “I’m going to find out,” he promised. “Just hang out here for a moment. I’ve got to take care of a few things.”

  “Okay.” Aerie nodded as she moved off to the side of the Bridge. “Please be careful, Exton.”

  He heard the worry in her voice but was at a loss as far as comforting her. He hurried over to the ship console and motioned several of his crewmembers to move over to his side.

  “Thora,” he called, turning to the woman with the raven-colored locks. She’d been a dependable situation analyst for years. “Give me the details. Atmospheric conditions?”

  “Pressure rising with the Redbird.”

  “Good,” he said. “Maybe that’ll give us an advantage. Greer? What information do you have on the PO?”

  “It’s greetings from home,” she said, confusing him for a moment before he recalled Greer was from an outpost of the URS, near the old Canadian-United States border. “Point of origin is estimated near forty-four degrees north, sixty-three degrees west.”

  “Nova Scotia.” He rubbed his temples. “I should have guessed.” He recalled the reports of the extra activity around the area. It looks like they’re finally ready to strike, he thought. Bring it on, Osgood.

  Retaliation would be swift, Exton decided. Especially if anyone got hurt. He glanced over at Aerie again. She gave him a resolute look, proud and humble all at once, as she watched him command the flurry of activity.

  Her approval and admiration settled some of his nerves, even as it stirred a new fear inside of him.

  I need to get her out of here. She’s not safe here.

  “Sir?” Greer came up behind him with a readout in her hand. “What is it?”

  He reluctantly turned his attention away from Aerie. “Nothing. Get me a transmission line down to the URS Military Headquarters. No, wait …” Exton paused as an unsettling began to churn in his stomach. “Never mind. Just have a transmission line cleared and secure waiting for me. I’ll log in the location as needed.”

  Something about this is off again, he thought. He’d had this feeling when he’d accidentally picked up Aerie along with the Memory Tree.

  “Right away, Captain.”

  Why only one? Why only one missile? And why an FTK-Redbird?

  It was a smaller missile, Exton knew. One that might have escaped the URS’s own missile systems on Earth, even if it was no match for the sensitivity of the Perdition’s monitoring systems.

  “Thora,” he called. “Can you confirm there is only one Redbird approaching from Earth?”

  “Give me one moment, Captain,” Thora replied. “Let me check through the other systems of the URS and see if the Tech Filters caught anything from the satellite feeds.”

  “Thanks. Let me know.” He turned to another cadet. “Name?” he asked.

  “Ali,” the cadet responded with a salute. “I’m working on giving you an ETA on the Redbird, Captain.”

  “Good. Give it to me ASAP. And page the Commander. We’re going to need him.”

  “Yes, Captain,” Ali said with a grin.

  “Thanks.” He’s new to the Perdition, Exton recalled. This must be his first battle onboard.

  Looking at how young he seemed, Exton was suddenly willing to bet it was his first official battle, period.

  “Shields are at max power,” Greer called. “Ready for impact if needed.”

  “Engines are on standby,” Thora called. “Redbird staying course.”

  We need to get out of here.

  Where is Tyler? Exton wondered as he headed toward the helm. It took him a moment to remember he’d just seen him down at the harvest, dancing with Emery.

  It seems impossible, Exton thought, that this would happen on the day of the harvest celebration.

  Tyler arrived less than a moment later, with Emery in tow. Exton felt a rush of relief to see his friend and sister. “We’re here.”

  “Good. I have need of your services,” he said. “Emery, take Aerie down level, somewhere safe and away from the ship’s gravity center—away from all major turbine clusters.”

  Emery nodded. She turned to Aerie. “Let’s go, Aerie. It’ll be alright.”

  Exton couldn’t stop the small smile from escaping. Emery sounded just like Mom there, he thought. “Take care,” he called. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

  Aerie made no attempt at objection, surprising him just in the slightest. She nodded somberly, the light in her eyes seeming to dim as she departed. Emery tugged her along behind her, and then when the door shut, she disappeared.

  I have to protect her.

  Adrenaline rushed and his focus sharpened. Exton cleared his throat. “Thora? How are the reports?”

  “Got them. The Redbird’s a loner, but it’s being followed by several Heatseekers, coming up from New Hope itself.”

  “Heatseekers?” Exton ignored the dread he felt at the edge of his mind. “Which model? Can you tell?”

  “Sierra-Bravo-Deltas.”

  “The SBD Heat Bombers? The ones with the disguised radar signals?” Exton frowned. “What was the point of sending up a screaming Redbird if they were going to … ” His voice trailed off as a new idea formed in his mind.

  The Redbird was a small missile. Through the large shields of the URS, it would go largely undetected until it reached past the atmosphere, when the beta-thrusters would kick in. No one would send it, except as a warning shot.

  Was someone warning them an attack was on the way?

  Is it possible? Exton wondered.

  “Who do we have on the ground in Nova Scotia?” he called. “Any allies? Friends? Defectors?”

  “I’ll check the roster, sir,” Thora replied.

  “Good. See what you can find out.” He paused. “See if you can get Dennis up here.”

  It was too much to hope for, Exton chided himself. But if the Perdition had an ally on the ground in the URS, Reverend Thorne would be the one to know. />
  The Ecclesia has their moments, Exton thought with a grim look.

  “I’ll relay the question to the Rev,” Thora informed him as she saluted him and went back to work.

  “Exton,” Tyler called. “The Heatseekers are locked on us.”

  “Evasive maneuvers,” Exton ordered. “See if you can shake them.”

  “Cap,” a new voice called from behind him.

  Exton glanced over to see his Veteran Control Officer walk through the door. The older man, with fuzzy, graying hair and a perpetually stern countenance, saluted him as he made strides across the Command Bridge.

  “Rhodey,” he greeted. “We have a situation.”

  “Masters and our crew are down at the ready,” the officer replied gruffly. “We’re on standby, running through the final check.”

  “How long till you’re ready for retaliation?”

  “Ready to what?” Tyler came up beside them. “Exton, you’re not going to bomb the URS now, are you?”

  “Tyler,” Exton snapped, “this is not the time or the place to challenge me. We have Heatseekers locked onto us. I’m going to deploy a decoy of my own.”

  “We’ve been attacked,” Jared spoke up. “Retaliation is a perfectly expected response.”

  “We don’t do the expected,” Exton argued. “Officer Rhodey, when your men are ready, signal the Bridge. Tack on a tracker, and once it’s loose we’re going to go full throttle.”

  “Captain,” Ali interrupted. “ETA is ninety-three seconds. Estimated POI is going to be mid-ship.”

  “Commander,” Exton called. “Send out the alert to the crewmembers on duty to prepare for lockdown.”

  “Already done,” Tyler called back.

  “Thora? Where are the Heatseekers?”

  “Approaching on the port side. There’s eight of them.”

  The Heatseekers are going to be trickier, Exton thought. With the heat-seeking technology packed in with its shielded core, they were a persistent piece of weaponry. It would be harder to throw them off. Especially in space, where they were the only clear target for miles.

  He briefly recalled Heatseekers had been forbidden by the Geneva Accords before the United Nations fell. The law wouldn’t apply, Exton knew, because it was being used in space.

  Rhodey spoke up. “We have a go on retaliation. The lamb is ready,” he called.

  “That’s one of the smaller nuclear bombs?” Exton asked.

  “Yep.”

  He hated that he felt he had no choice. “Dispatch the lamb. Lock on to it, and once we’re two minutes out, shoot it down.”

  “Yes, Captain.” Rhodey nodded, already heading off the Command Bridge.

  Exton turned to Tyler. “Commander, cloak the ship and then blast us out of here. Head toward the oh-six-four-two mark. Get us out of here.”

  “Got it.” Tyler push the ship full throttle, keying in the coordinates.

  “Prepare for impact in sixty,” Exton called. “Send out notices over the intercom. Be on standby to for the Redbird.”

  Tyler came up beside him. “You’re going to let a nuke explode?” he asked.

  “Yes. It’ll create enough heat that the seekers should get pulled in.”

  “You’re sure it will work?”

  Exton glanced at the control board listlessly. “If it doesn’t, we’ll have to see about sending out a team separately to destroy them individually.”

  “Jared would love the combat run.” Tyler tried to muster up a smile.

  Exton only nodded; for the first time in a long time, he prayed everything would work out.

  “The lamb’s been hit. It’s away!” Thora called. “Prepare for backlash.”

  A rush of power propelled past the Perdition, brushing up and pushing against it. Exton could hear the ship groaning in the aftermath’s flames.

  The monitors flared and the lights momentarily dimmed, before turning on once more.

  “Power regulating,” Ali called.

  Tyler groaned. “We’ve been knocked off course,” he called, hurrying over to correct the flightpath.

  “Give it another ten seconds,” Ali told him. “The nuclear core’s explosion will return after the radioactive stats return to normal levels.”

  Greer spoke up. “Captain,” she called, her voice laced with hidden worry. “We have a confirmed hit from the Redbird.”

  “Where did it hit?” Exton asked.

  “Close to the Biovid,” Greer told him, pointing to the screen. “Indicators show it did not explode, but it still breached the panels.”

  Exton felt a rush of anger and despair. “Send someone down there to check on it, immediately. We can’t risk the Biovid.”

  “Right away.”

  “Back on course,” Tyler exclaimed happily. “We’re back on target for the rendezvous point.”

  “Good work.” Exton relaxed some at the news. Even if the Biovid is hit, he thought, we’ll be able to drift easily and out of sight while we get it fixed. “I guess Aunt Patty’s going to get to see you again sooner than you’d thought, Tyler.”

  Tyler grinned. “She’s a nice lady, despite your attempts to convince me that she has it out for me.”

  “You keep thinking that,” Exton said with a small grin. “I’m not giving up.”

  The crew relaxed, even as the readouts kept pouring in. Everything seemed to return to normal too quickly, Exton noticed. But then, after six years of normal, it was the default anymore.

  “Why do you think they attacked now?” Tyler asked. “It’s a strange time to attack.”

  “They’ve had plenty of time to work with my father’s designs,” Exton muttered thoughtfully.

  “Captain,” Thora called. “Reverend Thorne is unable to come up to the bridge right now. He is preoccupied with helping with the children.” She smiled. “My own included.”

  “I can imagine they were pretty frightened,” Exton said.

  “He did tell me that we don’t have any known active connections in that region,” she informed him. “But he did say that it could be a new follower or a hidden agent.”

  “Thanks,” he replied. “Order up a more thorough investigation. I want to be aware of any new developments.” He turned to Tyler. “What’s our ETA for the rendezvous point?”

  “Twenty-three hours and change.”

  He nodded. “You have command of the bridge,” he said. “I’ve got some gloating to do. Place a shuffler on my outgoing message, would you?”

  “Same as always,” Tyler promised. “Tell Osgood we all said hi.”

  Exton nodded grimly. “I’m sure he’ll be just delighted to hear from us, especially after he just tried to kill us.”

  ♦23♦

  Emery had just entered into the Ecclesia’s sanctuary—their safe space destination—when Aerie felt the blast of the nuclear bomb explode all around her. She was thrown forward onto the floor.

  Heat’s fiery shadow seemed to pour through the haul as the power flickered and the lights died out, causing many people, including children and babies, to cry out.

  “What’s going on?” Aerie pushed herself up some, but couldn’t see anyone else.

  “Aerie,” Emery called. “Where are you?”

  “Right here.” Aerie reached out and felt Emery’s arm. “I’m right beside you. I’ve got you.”

  “That’s not me.”

  “Oh.”

  A laugh, deep and almost gruff in tone, resounded from the body attached to the arm.

  Aerie gasped and dropped it. “Sorry, sir,” she said.

  “It’s no problem. Is that Miss Rearden, by any chance?” the man asked.

  “Er, yeah,” Aerie answered. “It’s me.”

  “Nice to meet you. I’m Brother Don, one of the elders of the Ecclesia.”

  “Oh.” Aerie nodded, chastising herself a moment later when she realized no one could see her. “Nice to meet you too,” she replied.

  The lights turned on, and Aerie found herself on the floor next to an older ma
n with gray-flecked hair. He was wearing loose clothes, a trait Aerie had come to associate with the Ecclesia.

  “Are you okay?” she asked, standing up and hurrying over to help him up. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

  “No, you didn’t.” He grabbed onto her hand as she pulled him up to his feet. “Thank you.”

  “Brother, what just happened?” Aerie asked.

  “A nuke went off, that’s all.”

  Aerie’s gaze darkened. “I thought Exton said there were no nukes onboard,” she said.

  “They’re attached to the outside of the ship, in special compartments, technically,” he told her. “But that was definitely an explosion.”

  Aerie frowned as she recalled Exton’s words: Would it make you feel better if I told you there were no nukes onboard?

  Saved by a technicality! Aerie thought angrily, remembering his other claim, that he’d defeated her in battle. I’ll have to remember this for our rematch.

  Emery stepped forward. “Aerie. You know the URS wanted the Perdition to be equipped with weapons, and that includes bombs and nuclear warheads.”

  She sighed. “I suppose it’s pointless to argue about it right now,” she said, “considering it just helped save us.”

  There was a small beep! coming from Emery’s pocket. She pulled out her intercom. “Yes?”

  Aerie turned back to Don, while Emery tried to go somewhere where she could hear. “You’re a member of the Ecclesia. I’ve heard them say they value life. Don’t you think it’s a little hypocritical to have bombs onboard this ship?”

  “We value all life,” he told her, “and that includes our own. We are allowed to protect ourselves from attack and protect those we love.”

  “Even if it means killing other people?”

  “We live in a fallen world,” Don said. “We protect others we love, often risking our own lives in the process.”

  “So, yes, then.”

  “Sometimes,” he corrected gently. “But that is not a flat response across the board, nor ongoing approval to do so when I say it. It is a call to careful consideration, including understanding the responsibility we have for our choices, difficult as they may be.”