They don’t know what I’ve seen.
A knock on the front door made him leap from his chair, knocking it over. He righted it, cursing, and went to tell whoever it was to go away. To come another day. After I’m dead, maybe.
When he opened the door to a woman who looked identical to Senator Sandy Bernard, he shook his head, blinking, trying to clear away the mirage. It’s happened, then. I’ve lost the last shred of sanity I was clinging to.
“Chief Calum Ralston?” the apparition said.
“Yes, ma’am.” Ralston’s gaze wandered beyond the hallucination and found more figments of his imagination. Behind the senator stood a Winger, a Tumbran, a human woman, and a man who looked like a young Warren Husher. Strange that my sanity would abandon me in quite this manner. It wasn’t unusual to see Tumbra on human planets, or at least it hadn’t been, before Hurst’s alien ban.
“May we come in?” Senator Bernard’s spectral doppelgänger asked.
He decided to run with it. “Sure.”
Leading them to his smallish living room, he waited until the visions all took seats before speaking again. “Uh, can I get you tea?”
“If you don’t mind my saying, Chief Ralston, our presence appears to have caused you considerable distress.” Bernard had one leg crossed over the other, and she spoke calmly.
“I’m not convinced you’re real,” Ralston said.
“We’re real,” the Tumbran said. “Captain Leonard Keyes recommended we visit you.”
“Keyes.” Of course. He would be behind this. “His last great act, I suppose, as captain of the Providence. According to the news, they arrested him and took his ship to the Vermillion Shipyards to become scrap.”
Young Warren Husher’s fists tightened on his lap, and Ralston could tell he was barely holding back some venom.
Ralston squinted at him. “Are you a relative of Warren Husher?”
“I’m his son.”
“Wonderful. The flesh-and-blood son of a traitor has come for a visit.”
“Did you know my father?”
“I served under him, and I was one of the few who hated it. I didn’t like the unorthodox way he went about everything. Or the constant wisecracks.”
Husher the younger nodded. “The more you speak, the more respect I’m gaining for my father. I’ll have to commend you to him.”
Grunting, Ralston marched out of the room to make tea. He toyed briefly with the idea of not making the boy a cup, but decided not to be that petty.
He returned with the tray, and everyone took a mug. Husher started drinking from his right away. Should have spat in that one.
Ralston sipped from his coffee and grimaced. It was the same one from before, and just as cold. He replaced it on the tray. “I’ve always liked you, Senator.”
Inclining her head, Bernard said, “Thank you.”
“I recognize another soldier when I see one. I don’t always agree with your policies, but it’s not hard to tell you mean what you say. You actually believe in something, which pretty much makes you a unicorn among politicians, and you’re prepared to fight for it.”
“Allow me to get right to our purpose in visiting you,” Bernard said. “As kind as your praise is, there isn’t much time to waste on making nice.”
Ralston nodded. As when he’d seen her on TV, he liked the way Bernard talked.
“What are your perceptions of the current president and her administration, Chief?” the senator said.
“Hurst’s atrocious. Just terrible. Especially considering she’s directed the UHF to destroy the Wingers, who we’ll clearly need to answer this new threat from the Ixa, not to mention the Gok riding roughshod over everything.”
“We agree, then,” Bernard said. “She’s doing exactly as you say, and she also massacred civilians exercising their right to peaceful assembly. As a result, there’s now a movement to pressure Hurst to resign. Have you heard of it?”
“Of course. It’s all over the micronet. But it’ll never work.”
“Maybe not with its current level of intensity, no. What if I told you that I intend to lend my support to the movement?”
Ralston pondered the idea, reaching absently for his cold coffee before letting his hand drop. “I’d call it noble, and I think it would mean a lot to the defenders—that’s what the protesters are calling themselves, if you didn’t know. But I doubt your support would be enough to force Hurst to quit.”
“I’ve designed a set of algorithms that I hope will help,” the Tumbran said. The alien hadn’t touched its tea. Maybe they don’t drink tea.
“Algorithms? What do algorithms have to with anything?”
“The humans have dubbed my invention the ‘revolution gauge,’ which is admittedly a bit pat, but—”
“I’m pretty sure you came up with that name,” the Winger cut in, drawing a glare from the Tumbran.
“As I was saying,” the diminutive creature said, “using both historical records and a holistic analysis of the contemporary news cycle, my tool will provide the public with an exact measure of its progress toward the stated goal, namely, toppling Hurst’s government. Given a concrete visualization of its own momentum, my hope is that the public will…”
As the Tumbran spoke, Ralston gazed at the senator, squinting. “Am I supposed to be understanding this little runt, then?”
Laughter burst from Husher at that, which he quickly stifled with the back of his hand. The Tumbran fell silent, stiffening in its seat.
Sandy Bernard cleared her throat. “It’s not really crucial that you understand Piper’s invention. We’re here to ask your help in executing a plan formulated by Captain Keyes.”
“This should be good.”
“I hope so. The captain’s plan involves bringing together UHF veterans who oppose the way Hurst is using the military to serve a corporate agenda, an agenda bound to bring a swift end to our species. If veterans join the protest en masse, it will put unprecedented pressure on the government. Can you imagine how it will appear to citizens when they see footage of police brutalizing veterans? That’s if they even dare to use the same oppressive tactics they’ve been using on the defenders. I know the risk I’m asking you and your fellow veterans to take on is tremendous, but—”
“I’ll do it.”
Bernard blinked. “You will?”
He nodded. “I don’t know how many veterans I’ll actually be able to get together. I’m not very persuasive. But I’ll try, and you’ll have me, at the very least.”
“Thank you, Chief Ralston. On behalf of the people of the Commonwealth, thank you.”
The Winger spoke again, shifting its wings, which were clearly being poorly accommodated by Ralston’s threadbare couch. “Do you have any news of how my people are faring?”
“Um…” Ralston shrugged. “The news isn’t good. According to the TV, the Wingers have lost all battle sense. They’re just throwing themselves at the Gok with everything they have, while the UHF decimates their colonies. I’m sorry, but it looks like the Wingers are done for.”
The well-muscled Winger sitting in his living room rose to its full height. “That’s it. I’m leaving.”
Husher nodded, getting to his feet as well. “Me too. We’ve done all we can here. We have a war to fight.”
Senator Bernard joined them in standing. “I appreciate everything you’ve done, both of you.” The senator shook the human’s hand as well as the Winger’s talons.
The Tumbran stood, too. “The senator has my algorithm, and so my contribution here is also at an end. I’ll lend you my aid in passing through the darkgates, Lieutenant Husher, if you want it.”
Husher raised his eyebrows. “You can do that?”
“Yes. The Tumbra have only ever done what they consider best to maintain the galactic balance of power. Once I convince my brethren that letting us pass serves that purpose, we shouldn’t experience any problems.”
“You can take the shuttle,” Senator Bernard said. “I’m where I
need to be.”
“I’ll stay with Sandy,” the other woman said, looking at Ralston. “I’m Corporal Simpson, by the way. Since you didn’t ask.”
“That’s that, then.” Husher also stared at Ralston. “We’ll leave. I hope you’re as valuable as Keyes seemed to think. We sacrificed more than you know to get here.”
A biting retort leapt to Ralston’s tongue, but he swallowed it. “I’ll try my best to be,” he said instead.
Chapter 44
Revolution Gauge
Once Husher and the others left, Ralston had led Bernard and Simpson to a small study on the same floor as the living room. There, a lapcom sat on a desk whose wood veneer had begun to peel.
They uploaded Piper’s revolution gauge to the micronet, running into no technical problems, which Bernard gave thanks for. Without the Tumbran around to provide tech support, their plan might have sputtered out before it began.
Then she, Simpson, and Ralston stood around the cramped study and waited. For hours. She considered suggesting they move the lapcom to the living room, but she didn’t want to impose on their host any more than they already had.
At last, the AI finished analyzing news sites, social media, and historical data it pulled from archives. Then it presented them with its calculation for how close they were to toppling Hurst’s government:
Seven percent.
“Wow,” Simpson said. “We have a lot of work to do.”
“And fast.” Bernard crossed her arms in front of her, rubbing her elbows. “I thought we could start our work here on Zakros, but this makes me think we should head straight for Mars.” The red planet was considered humanity’s adopted homeworld, after the total degradation of Earth. “I don’t think we’ll have quite the impact we need to, here.”
The corporal nodded. “I think I can secure us discreet transport. I’ll need micronet access, though.”
“Ralston will need his lapcom to start contacting other veterans. Can you not get on the net with your com?”
“Nope. Military coms aren’t designed to access the civilian micronet.”
“Then use mine.” Bernard handed Simpson her own personal com.
Ralston leaned back in the study’s only chair. “Senator, before I get started, I have to ask you a question. If things don’t go your way on Mars, do you envision these veterans taking up arms against Hurst? Is a military coup among the options you’re considering? Because I’m not sure how I feel about that. Or that I’m up to it, physically.”
“Absolutely not,” Bernard said. “I will urge all protesters to remain peaceful, and I will make clear that any violent actors will be disowned by the movement. To turn violent would be to sink to the level of the government, and to give the media an excuse to vilify us. Not to mention that the police would gain an actual justification for cracking down as brutally as they have. They’d likely start brutalizing the defenders even more.”
“That’s what I needed to hear,” Ralston said, turning to his lapcom without another word.
As the others worked, Bernard sat on the hard laminate with her back against the study wall and thought about what she planned to say to the defenders once she reached one of their camps.
It wasn’t long before Ralston started muttering to himself. Bernard particularly enjoyed that, since she loved the man’s Scottish accent, though she didn’t want to risk embarrassing him by saying so.
“It’s gonna cost money, especially if I manage to get more veterans than just me. Better start a fundraiser.”
Bernard peered up at the screen. From the floor, she could only see the display’s top-right quadrant, but that was enough for her to recognize the website of a popular crowdfunding service.
“What if I get a hundred veterans?” The Scot gave a derisive grunt, still apparently talking to himself. “Pie in the sky. Not possible.” The clatter of his fingers on the keyboard followed, but stopped suddenly, with Ralston’s head twitching upward. “What if I get two-hundred?”
Bernard felt a smile spreading across her face. “You’ll get a thousand, Chief. Mark my words.”
Ralston turned, apparently unperturbed about Bernard interrupting his conversation with himself. “Do you really think so?”
“I do.”
“This could be huge, you know that? Like nothing we’ve ever seen before.”
Inclining her head, Bernard said, “I think that’s exactly what Captain Keyes envisioned.”
Chapter 45
Juktas
Ek emerged from a long, low building on the tropical planet of Juktas. After the air-conditioned interior, the heat hit her like a wave, and the AI governing her suit kicked into overdrive to extract what moisture it could from the air, using it to keep her skin from drying out.
“Another warlord in the bag?” Warren Husher called to her from underneath a squat tree with rigid leaves that extended farther than seemed possible.
She crossed the distance between them, joining him under the tree’s shade. “It would seem so,” she said, relishing the sudden coolness.
“I’ve never met a woman so adept at convincing people to risk their short-term security for long-term gains. Most people are pretty resistant to that notion.”
“Technically, the term ‘woman’ does not apply to me.”
“You’re right.” Warren grinned. “If it did, I’d probably have a crush on you. Maybe I do anyway.”
“You do.”
Warren’s gray eyebrows shot up, and his mouth hung open, in the middle of forming whatever he had been about to say. “I was only…” He sighed. “Ah, well. Don’t tell my wife.”
“I do not know your wife.”
“Yeah. Neither do I.” The nearby ocean sparkled under the Yclept System’s blazing star, and Warren’s eyes took on a wistful look as he stared at it. He returned his gaze to Ek. “Do you ever worry that you’re making these radicals too powerful? Too united?”
“All signs point to their willingness to fight the UHF, and then the Ixa. For now, that has to be enough.”
“I guess so. On that note, did they tell you I’m leaving?”
Now came Ek’s turn to study Warren. Is he truly with us? Other than the strange fabrication aboard the Ixan shuttle, she had detected no reason to believe otherwise. But she did not have time to unravel the mystery of Warren Husher’s mind. Everything barreled forward now, and events would soon come to a head. She needed to focus on mustering enough firepower for the coming fight. And I need to continue distracting myself from the fact of my murdered people.
“I’m taking the Ixan shuttle to Pinnacle,” Warren said, clearly uncomfortable with Ek’s silence. “Thresh says his orbital sensors detected Wingers taking some of the derelict UHF ships there. Those are human ships, and I plan to demand them back. They don’t appear to be using them, anyhow.”
“What purpose will your mission serve?”
“I’m getting the ships for the radicals to use. Why else do you think they’re letting me go?” Warren shrugged. “I can’t very well fly them all myself.”
“You continue to call Thresh and the others radicals. I do not think they appreciate you regurgitating Commonwealth propaganda.”
He shrugged. “How else will you know who I’m talking about?” The former captain ran a hand through his storm-cloud hair. “The real reason I’m doing this…I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said. About my possibly being this ‘phoenix’ person, from the Ixan Prophecies, and about humanity needing me. And I’ve decided, if they really do need me, I’d better figure out exactly how they need me, and quick. This seems like a good way to start.”
“I see. Have you considered that the Wingers may simply arrest you, as they did before?”
“Yeah. But I have to risk it, Ek. I need to do something. I’m hoping these Wingers won’t recognize me, but if they do, hopefully they’ll also recognize that I’m working with the good guys. Oh, I almost forgot.” Digging in his pocket, Warren pulled out a scrap of paper with a long st
ring of characters written on it. He passed it to her. “You’ll need this. It’s a decryption key. The radicals are sending a Falcon just inside the Larkspur System, to relay any encrypted messages I send.”
“Are you certain the encryption is secure?”
“Of course. It’s the Köhler-Tremblay cryptosystem, the best public-key encryption scheme I know of.” Warren cleared his throat. “Listen, are you picking up on anything, uh, weird about me? I’ve been wondering more and more about what exactly the Ixa did to me for two decades.”
After a brief calculation, Ek decided she would tell him. “Aboard the Ixan shuttle, when I asked how you knew to refer to the Bastion Sector insurgents as radicals, you told me Wingers taught you the term. Your microexpressions gave every indication you were lying, and yet I also could tell you were not aware of your lie. Very odd, but that is what I perceived.”
“That is odd,” Warren said, and she could tell that while he had no memory of lying, he also took her words seriously.
He has seen too much of Fin perception to question it, by now. “Monitor yourself closely, Warren Husher. Your contributions are appreciated, but if the Ixa are able to exploit your position in some way, it could erase all the good you have done, or will do.”
“Yeah,” he said. “Okay. Thanks.” But as he walked away, Ek noted his stiff gait, and the way his shoulders hunched.
Warren Husher was clearly even more concerned than before.
Chapter 46
Regroup
Husher picked his way over the uneven terrain carefully, knowing that a single misstep could send him and Doctor Brusse careening into space. The shuttles could pick them up if that happened, but it would be a waste of fuel. Plus I’d never hear the end of it.
The Condors that had escaped the Providence surrounded the asteroid where the shuttles currently sat. Many of them belonged to Fesky’s main squadron, the Divebombers. She’d ordered the pilots to shut down all noncritical systems, to conserve fuel and to minimize the chances of getting detected.
Juggernaut: The Ixan Prophecies Trilogy Book 2 Page 14