Cronus

by K. A. Finn

  He clenches his jaw and focuses on Terra's voice as she reads to him. It's either that or he was going to disgrace himself by freaking out and screaming.

  OCARRO COLONY

  Milla sits on the wooden bench on the porch and watches the rain collecting in already more than ample puddles in the mud. 'What in the world convinced you to settle here?'

  Hardy laughs and rests her feet on the railing running around the deck. 'It's bloody miserable, isn't it? But that's part of its charm. Who in their right mind would voluntarily come here? If you're looking for somewhere to disappear, this pile of mud is the perfect spot.' She smiles and gestures behind her. 'Besides, Creed is here. I'll take a bit of mud if it means I get him too.'

  Milla may not get the attraction of the colony, but she understands what Hardy means. She left a comfortable Foundation life to join the Nomad so she could be with Chayse. It didn't really matter where they were as long as they were together. 'So, how do you feel about Creed rejoining the Nomad?'

  Hardy takes a sip from her bottle and smiles at Milla. 'Couldn't be happier for him. I love that man to death, but he doesn't belong here. Never has. No matter what they say, I fully believe there are some Nomad born into their roles. Gryffin obviously tops that list. You cut that man open and I swear you would find the word NOMAD going right through the centre of him. Creed is just like him in that regard.

  'When Rayde sent Gryffin to kill him, he may not have stopped his heart from beating but he killed him nonetheless. Not being a Nomad has destroyed a part of him.'

  Milla wraps her coat around her. 'Being a Nomad is something they take seriously, isn't it?'

  Hardy nods as she flicks a scary looking bug from her leg. 'That's an understatement. I didn't know him when he was a Nomad, but when he talks about it you can tell how much it meant to him. Every single night he comes out here and raises a glass to the stars. He belongs up there.'

  'But taking over the Nomad fleet when things are so... bloody shite. You must be worried about that.'

  'Of course I am. I know there's a strong chance he won't come out the other side of this, but there's no way I'm going to stop him. Gryffin has given him exactly what he never thought he'd have again. If he makes it out the other side in one piece - fantastic. And if he doesn't... Well, I'll know he died doing something he was born to do. Besides, I wouldn't write him off just yet. You've got to remember something.'

  'What?'

  'Who the hell do you think taught Gryffin to fight? Creed can more than take care of himself. Speaking of Gryffin. Cards on the table. How bad is he?'

  Milla takes a drink of her beer before she answers. 'He's running out of time. And I don't mean months, it's weeks at the most. His implants are killing him. It's horrible to watch, Hardy. He's just lying on a cot in a cell. On a good day he's conscious for a few hours. On a bad day I have to keep checking to make sure he's still with us.'

  'And his woman? How's she fairing?'

  'How do you think? The man she loves is dying in front of her eyes. He wants to be released to Ares so he can die without her there to witness the whole thing. The entire situation is depressing as hell.'

  'Sounds that way. So what's the big plan here?'

  'I don't know. I'm assuming Gryffin told Creed what it is.'

  'Indeed he did,' Creed says as he and Chayse join them on the porch. He sits down beside Hardy and drapes his arm across her shoulders. 'Seems I'm hitching a ride off this rock. You too Hardy if you're game.'

  'Try to stop me.'

  'I don't suppose he gave you anything else to go on?' Milla asks.

  'Bits. First thing we got to do is find out what ships we have at our disposal. Chayse, we need to prioritise repairing long-distance comms on your ship. Once we know who's still out there, we can regroup and see if we can get a hold of Gryffin. Ultar is off limits. The Foundation won't have packed up and left. Now they have the colony, they'll be keen to hang on to it until they get everything they can from it. We'll need to find somewhere uninhabited to get our shit sorted.'

  'We have the leader of Ultar onboard. She should know of a planet we can hold up on.'

  'Sounds good. So, you two head back to Nemesis and make a list of exactly what you need. I want the ship ready to go in ten hours. Hardy, you should be able to source what they're missing.'

  'Of course.'

  'Okay. We'll meet back here in an hour. Got it?' Chayse and Milla nod. Creed pushes to his feet and runs a hand over his hair. 'That felt strange. Long time since I've given orders. Think I could get used to that again.'

  'It suited you, babe.'

  He grins at Hardy as he opens the gate leading from the porch. 'Why thank you. Now, Chayse and Milla, your new High Commander just gave you an order. How about you both stop drinking my beer and move.'

  26

  DIXON SPACE STATION

  Gryffin barely suppresses a growl as he examines the specimens in the containment cells. Even the cells on Alpha or Cronus or whatever the hell the ship is called, are ridiculously lavish. The cells on Ares consist of a bare cot, somewhere to take a piss, and not a lot else. The prisoners in front of him had been living in better accommodation than his quarters on Ares. The monstrous ship has twenty cells so each of the technicians has their own room. What a fucking joke.

  The men and women were unlucky enough to have been on Alpha when Bray stole her. Bad luck for the technicians - good luck for them. Well, as long as they were willing to help out. Or could be persuaded to help. Or threatened to help. Gryffin really doesn't care which tactic works. If the technicians could earn their keep they'd stay breathing a little longer. If not, he'd have no issue killing the lot of them, but he doubts that'll be an option he'll be allowed to pick.

  They'll either be sent back to Earth or have to spend the rest of their lives in the cells on the station or Cronus. Killing them might be the better option.

  He walks past each cell, examining the occupants. To look at them you'd never suspect they could do the horrors he knows they're capable of. Were they even aware of the damage they've done? Do they give a damn? Probably not. They wouldn't be part of the team if they had any reservations about the outcome of the project.

  His left eye twitches and his vision swims in and out of focus. Hooking up to Cronus had taken its toll on him more than he thought it would. He was meant to have a chat with the prisoners twelve hours ago, but instead of only lasting a few short hours, the blindness caused by the link had stretched on for just under eleven hours.

  He'd never admit it, but he was terrified it would be a permanent issue. Now he just has to deal with everything else linking up had caused. His eyesight is more temperamental than usual, he's struggling to keep himself upright, and the odds of him being able to eat anything for the rest of the week are slim to none.

  But he accessed the system so it was worth it. Or will be if Bray and the Dixon's can find anything of use. Finally his eyesight decides to settle on its usual slightly out of focus vision, distorting the features of the personnel. Not a bad thing. He'd prefer not to remember their faces. 'Can they hear us?'

  Bray shakes his head. 'Not until we want them to.'

  'You really think they'll talk?'

  Bray pauses as he looks at the personnel. 'No clue, but if they do they'll knock months off our plan. Plus, they deserve a bit of one-on-one time with the infamous prototype.'

  Gryffin glares over at his brother. The way he feels right now he's going to be a massive disappointment. He's going to have to make this quick and brutal.

  'What?' Bray asks. 'It's the least they deserve. They knew what they were getting themselves in to when they joined the project.'

  'You think they had a choice?'

  'Does that make a difference?'

  'No.'

  Gryffin takes a step closer to the cells and the Foundation personnel shrink further in the corner. Using their knowledge to help build a program to disarm the cyborgs is a good plan, it's just not one he likes. Or even remotely wants t
o consider. He doesn't want anything to do with them.

  'So, how do you want to play this?' Bray asks.

  'Keep shooting them until they agree to work with us.' He nods at the third cell from the left. The man had glared at him when he walked past. 'That one first.'

  Bray unlocks the door and Gryffin steps inside. He grabs the man by the neck and carries him out, dropping him on the floor in full view of the other cells. He crouches down in front of him. 'Turn on the sound to the cells.' He waits until Bray nods at him before he speaks again. 'You know who I am?'

  The man nods quickly. 'Yes.'

  'You know about cyborg programming.'

  It's a statement rather than a question, but the man answers anyway. 'You won't get away with this.' His voice is shaky but there's a trace of Foundation arrogance underneath.

  Gryffin ignores him and takes the computer console from Bray. He throws it at the man who fumbles to catch it. 'There's a dummy program loaded on that. Tell me what it does.'

  'What?'

  Gryffin leans closer, his nose almost touching the doctor's. 'Tell me what it does.'

  'The Foundation will come for us. You'll be returned to the lab you were created in.'

  Gryffin responds by pulling his gun from its holster and shooting the man in the head. He steps over the body and faces the remaining prisoners, each one frozen in silence as they stare at the body of their colleague.

  Gryffin wipes the man's blood on his arm, smearing it rather than removing it. The body of their colleague mixed with his glowing purple eye and the smeared blood is doing more than any verbal threats could.

  'Who's next?'

  Less than half an hour later, Gryffin and Bray step out of the cells with four Foundation personnel shuffling along between them. Desyl and Terra frown as they get closer. 'What happened to the others?' Terra asks.

  'I'll talk to you in a minute.'

  She comes closer, then notices the blood on his arm. 'Please tell me you didn't.'

  'Not now, Terra.'

  'What did you do to them?'

  Gryffin gestures for Desyl to take his place then grabs Terra by the arm and drags her away from the group. 'What the hell is your problem?'

  'You can't kill whenever it takes your fancy. There are rules.'

  He shakes his head as he blows out a loud breath. 'Rules? You see the Foundation playing by the rules?'

  'So we stoop to their level, is that it? We're not murderers.'

  'I am.'

  Terra licks her lips and looks away from him. 'Do you really think killing their colleagues in front of them might have brought about their sudden cooperation?'

  'Give me a little credit, Terra. I only killed one of them.' He points down the corridor where Desyl led the prisoners away. 'They willingly helped create cyborgs. They did that because they're loyal to the Foundation. Empty threats wouldn't have done a thing. I had to give them incentive to open their damn mouths and talk.'

  'You didn't kill them all?'

  'No, I didn't. I killed one and roughed a few of them up a little. I don't care about them enough to put them out of their misery. I'm going to keep them locked up wondering what I'm going to do to them, how long they have left to breathe, or how many fingers I'll tear off. Imagination can be a better punishment than anything else I might want to do to them.'

  'Sorry. I just don't want us to lose sight of ourselves in all this. The Foundation will stoop to all new lows, we shouldn't do the same. You don't need to resort to violence.'

  Those blurred lines rear their heads again which doesn't help his mood. He's not used to people arguing with him. Until Infinity arrived in the Sector, his orders were followed without question. All the conversations and questions and discussions are making him irritable - especially when they involve Terra in any way. Being in a relationship with her means he can't just give her an order and not expect her to have something to say about it. He's learning things don't work that way.

  'Have you had your fucking eyes shut the whole time you've been on Ares?'

  'What do you mean?'

  'I'm a Nomad. I'll do whatever the hell I have to do to protect my ship and my crew. I don't have limits or a conscience. You have no idea how much I want to go back in that room and put a bullet in each and every one of those... things. I want to see the life drain out of their eyes and know I was the one to end it. If you don't get that, Ares isn't the ship for you.'

  She takes a step back and swallows. He knows he's scaring her, but right now that's what he wants. She needs to stop seeing the good in everyone and everything. The Foundation sure as hell won't be looking at things that way. She needs to understand and accept that.

  'So I have to condone murder or leave Ares?'

  'I want you to understand how things work on my ship, Terra. You want to stay on Ares - great. But if you're on my ship I can't have you getting on my case when I do my job.'

  'Right.'

  She stuffs her hands in her pockets, something she does when she's upset. A part of him feels a little bad for doing that to her, but she needs to know how things work.

  'Whatever we have between us, it needs to stay private. You can't have it both ways. If you want to be treated like a member of the crew you can't undermine me. I don't know how things work in the Foundation, but that's not going to fly with me. I've killed people for disobeying me. The ship comes first.'

  'But everyone knows we're together. It's not going to undermine you or your authority.'

  'How the hell is questioning me in front of my crew and prisoners not undermining me and my authority?’

  Terra clamps her mouth shut and looks away from him.

  ‘Exactly. I don't give a damn that everyone knows we’re together. This is about chain of command and following orders. Plain and simple. When we're around my crew, I'm your Captain - nothing more. I don’t tolerate being questioned. Understood?'

  Terra straightens and pushes her shoulders back. 'Yes, sir. Of course.'

  He wants to retaliate to her snapped response, but he can't find the energy right now. She's angry at him and will have to stay that way until he recovers from the link. 'Liaise with the Dixon's. Get some people over from Ares to help go through the data.'

  'Yes, sir.' She salutes sharply and turns on her heal, storming away from him. Gryffin leans against the wall and watches as she hurries down the corridor. Desyl slowly wanders over and stands beside him.

  'Everything okay, sir?'

  Gryffin shrugs. 'Sometimes I think things were easier when we didn't allow women on board.'

  Desyl grins. 'Maybe, but life would be pretty boring, right?'

  'I wouldn't mind some boring.'

  'C'mon, sir. Let's go threaten some Foundation personnel. That'll cheer you up.'

  NEMESIS

  Milla knocks on the door and Aleena looks up from her console. 'Sorry. Am I disturbing you?'

  Aleena shakes her head. 'I just reached out to Damon. He is a close friend who runs the colony Gryffin set up as a rendezvous point. It appears most of the fleet has arrived.'

  Milla joins Aleena at the unit and asks the question she needs to ask but is afraid to. 'What ships haven't made an appearance yet?'

  'Ares, Epsilon, Styx... and Infinity.'

  Milla knows Roman wouldn't have left the surface if his son was still there. There's also no way they would have hung around long after Ares left. So either Ares didn't leave which means Gryffin didn't leave. Or Ares left but Roman, Lucan, and Vance didn't.

  The two Nomad vessels were tasked with watching Ares' back. If Ares left they would have too... unless they were taken down while covering her.

  By the look on Aleena's face she's thinking the same thing. Something has happened. Something bad. 'I presume you've tried to raise them on comms.'

  'There is no response. I understand they could be out of range, but I have an unsettling feeling about this, Milla.'

  'Yeah. Me too. Hang on.' She walks away from Aleena as her comms unit sounds. 'Hey sexy
.'

  Chayse sighs loudly. 'How about you try calling me captain while I'm standing on the command deck in front of about half a dozen crew.'

  She grimaces to herself. 'Ah. Right. Got it. Sorry, Captain.'

  'I need you and Aleena up here.'

  They walk in silence to the command deck, each one still thinking about the missing ships, missing friends, and missing lovers.

  Milla's mood instantly brightens when she sees Chayse at the comms station. He smiles across at her and she knows he has good news.

  'What is it?'

  'We just received a message from Gryffin.'

  Creed plays the message and Gryffin appears on the screen. Milla is amazed how well he looks. The last time she saw him he was withering away. There was no muscle on his bones and his skin was pale and pasty. He's still got a way to go before he's back to how he was when she first met him, but the improvement is incredible.

  'He looks terrible,' Creed mutters to himself.

  'Actually,' Chayse says. 'He's a hell of a lot better than he was. Believe me, this is a definite plus.'

  Creed sucks in a breath. 'Right. Well, let's see what he's got to say for himself.'

  'Not sure when or if this will get to you. I'm hoping it will. If it doesn't we're all kind of screwed.'

  'Cheery way to start a message,' Milla says.

  'Ares, Perses, and Lir are with the Dixon's. We got some intel from Avoca. He gave us the location of a hangar of ships. The ships are connected with the project. Seems the Foundation didn't destroy any of the transports they attacked. They just took the personnel and stored the ships.

  'It's Creed's call, but if you wanted to check it out and see what you could get up and running it would help. Beating the Foundation is going to be about strength in numbers. I've given you the coordinates for the hangar and any intel we could find out. Get the ships and make your way back towards the Port. We should be able to talk once you're closer.'

  Then the screen goes blank.