Unite the Frontier (United Star Systems Book 3)

by J Malcolm Patrick

  Aaron narrowed his eyes.

  “Too soon?” Lee asked.

  Aaron clapped Lee on the shoulder. “Never too soon with my friends. You keep things real. I got a second chance at this grand adventure of life. Maybe a few months ago it might have bothered me. I’m sure I’ll be thinking about it a lot. But what is life apart from DNA and memory engrams?”

  “So we’re agreed. I’ll be on the lookout for spares.”

  “Don’t push it.”

  They chuckled.

  “We’re back where we started . . . any last words?” Aaron asked.

  Lee shrugged. “All for one and . . . one for all?”

  Aaron grimaced.

  “They won’t be writing that on a starship plaque anytime soon,” he said, as he triggered the breaching charge.

  ***

  They entered a corridor with a single strip of white light running along the center. They’d barely progressed a few meters into the base when their equipment failed. Definitely, powerful energy dampeners.

  They still carried some of the now useless equipment in case it overcame the enemy’s countermeasures. They dumped the rest and triggered the self-destructs. Only a darkened mark along the base flooring indicated anything had been there.

  Their helmets were useless without power. Eyes and ears only from here—the basics.

  They progressed in silence through a labyrinth of corridors making their way to Reliant’s signal until they came across a single door. There was no way past it. They tried a breaching strip. No effect. Lee hammered it with his bionic arm. Nothing.

  Then the doors parted.

  Aaron really should stop thinking things couldn’t get any worse.

  Chapter 3 –Old Friends

  “I still want to snap his scrawny little neck” - Malcolm Lee

  Velon-1

  “Commander Rayne and Lieutenant Lee, you don’t know how thrilled I am at your presence.”

  Ben James had that same maniacal grin as when Aaron first saw him on Atlas Prime.

  But something was off. Ben James was alone. Surely, the relentless agitator wasn’t this stupid. Either that or he liked waking up in a new clone body, daily.

  “Commander?” James queried.

  Aaron still didn’t answer.

  “Where’s the rest of your goon squad?” Lee asked, poised to hurry along Ben James’ reunion with a new clone body.

  “I am alone. No one knows you’re here.”

  “I don’t understand,” Aaron said, resting a hand on Lee’s shoulder to settle the lieutenant.

  Ben James regarded them both with his dark, weasel eyes. “Time is short. I will explain as quickly and as simply as I can. I know you young ones are not very sharp.”

  James gestured to himself.

  “I am the first Ben James,” he said, emphasizing the “ I ”. “One of Lazarus’ original followers from our twenty-second century Earth.”

  Aaron shook his head, sliding a hand to his plasma blade. It could still slice James even without its plasma charge. One wrong move by the clone and Aaron wouldn’t hesitate to chop him in half. “You’ve only confused me more. Don’t you age? And only transfer to a clone if near death?”

  James looked impatient and frustrated at the same time. “Yes. Try to follow. Sometimes it’s not always possible to have a transfer of your most recent memories and consciousness before death. That much should be obvious, Commander Rayne.”

  “What does this mean for you?”

  “It means that somewhere along the line, some of the Old Ones and many Immortals are divergent. There is a line of Ben James who Kane’s break-away military caste indoctrinated, and then there’s my line.” He seemed to consider something for a moment and finally said. “The sane ones.”

  “That’s up for debate,” Lee said.

  Ben James ignored the lieutenant.

  Aaron gave Lee a warning stare. “So, the others of your line, kept transferring . . . the original, peace loving Ben James? And somewhere along the line when your others broke away, they kept their own ideology alive.”

  Ben James smiled. The kind of smile a parent might give a child who’d just taken its first steps. “That is correct. Not too slow after all.”

  “Can you even trace the stage at which . . . your other self, broke away from your beliefs?”

  “Highly unlikely since I never got to that point. My line didn’t. The other Ben James . . . they might know. They would have the memory of when and where he began to turn.”

  There was a lull. “Now what?” Aaron asked.

  “Now, we get what you came for. So you can return to your side of the galaxy and never return, just as you wish it.”

  “I don’t think that last part will happen.”

  Ben James smiled. “We’ll deal with Rylar Kane and his followers. We didn’t live for hundreds of years, technically speaking of course, for Kane to destroy our legacy. It’s true we hold no love for Earth or you, her descendants. But, to hold you accountable for the actions of your, or shall I say our forefathers, would mean you would be equally justifiable in holding me accountable for the actions of all the Ben James.

  “Rylar Kane and his people were never powerful enough to take on your entire sector. They planned to use the dreadnoughts they stole from us in a preemptive strike and eliminate your capacity for resistance and possibly enslave the rest. How do you think your officer Lt. Delaine got the information she sent to you? I made contact with her. But she was intercepted before she could escape and my forces were not yet in position to assist her.”

  That was an interesting revelation.

  “Why didn’t the rest of you stop Kane before now?”

  “Space is a big place, Commander Rayne. While this rogue section of the military caste was off plotting and building their weapons of mass destruction, we were bliss. We’ve discovered many fascinating things here in the Outer Rim and beyond. We don’t—at least the rational ones among us—don’t have time for Kane’s nonsense. We’ve become enthralled by the offerings beyond the frontier. It seems the farther away from the center of our galaxy you venture, the more interesting things get.”

  “Now that you are aware of them why don’t you stop them?” Lee asked.

  James had a bemused look. “Why do you even think I am here, just to save you?”

  Aaron shrugged. “That wouldn’t be so bad for a change.”

  “I rarely do anything like this myself. It might seem confusing to you. Sometimes, before one of me engages in a life-threatening act, and we’re beyond range to do a transfer, they’ll simply write and transmit a log. But it is still possible to diverge. Imagine two clones being apart for years, many unique experiences, events, to shape you. Logs cannot convey these events. While I would know what happened, I wouldn’t have experienced it. It wouldn’t have an effect on me. That’s how the diverging process begins.”

  “Essentially, you’re saying some of the other clones are their own people, no longer Ben James, and doing the will of the one Ben James.”

  Ben James nodded. “This is true. It is an existentially never-ending debate among my people. One . . . which we have had without violence thus far. Rylar Kane broke away from us generations ago. You’re seeing but a spark of what is the Outer Rim Alliance. The technology he has is a hundred years old. Our territories are vast and wide. You are not even close to the heart of the Outer Rim. Kane had to establish his operations far from us to escape detection for so long. I assure you, things would not have been so easy for you had you fought the true Old Ones.”

  “Can’t you put your memories in a different looking clone?”

  “It is forbidden by a sacred law. We can scan a sample of DNA and know from which line a clone belongs.”

  “So you’re of the original line, yet still you have others like you of the original line, who are completely different, but who still hold your basic values.”

  “Correct again.”

  Ben James’ assertions of normal, made Aaron wa
nt to dissolve into uncontrollable fits of laughter. “Why the creepy grin all the time?”

  The grin widened. “My wife used to find it adoring.”

  “Well, I’m not her. So drop it.”

  Ben James didn’t.

  Aaron looked at Lee. “Your thoughts?”

  “I still want to snap his scrawny little neck.”

  Aaron smirked. “Can we forgo that for now, as long as he gives us Rachael and allows us to leave? We’re pretty much stuck otherwise.”

  “I’ll concede to that,” Lee said.

  “Now what?” Aaron asked James again.

  “Follow me,” the clone or whatever he was, said.

  Aaron pushed away the thought that things couldn’t get any worse.

  Chapter 4 –Jaws of Hell

  “How you feel is irrelevant” – Ben James

  Velon-1

  Ben James led them through another labyrinth of corridors. Maybe instead of hell, Aaron was being herded to some clone vat. Perhaps a hundred years from now, his future clones would remember today’s conversation with Ben James.

  James seemed to sense his uneasiness. “How do you think you made it this far into the base?” he asked, as he kept walking.

  Aaron raised an eyebrow. “Shear willpower and ingenuity on our part?”

  “Not quite. Even if that was true. I disabled the many alarms you would have tripped on your way in. Granted, your underground probes were clever.”

  “Well with you by our side, we need not fear any longer,” Lee said, in a most mocking tone.

  Ben James sighed. “We are still in danger. My people are engaging Kane’s soldiers as we speak. In case you’re wondering, my people wear blue and gold uniforms and armor. Try not to shoot them when you see them. Kane’s people wear red and black.”

  James cocked his head.

  “This way. My people have breached the hangar bay where your ship is. A fleet loyal to the Old Ones has orbital superiority,” James said, “and is presently negotiating Kane’s surrender. The ones here on the ground seem prepared to battle to the bitter end. This is their stronghold after all. As I said, I took a great risk by coming here.”

  Aaron didn’t care. “You’ll forgive me if I don’t feel indebted. It’s a little weird having two people who look exactly the same where one turns up offering a helping hand, and the other tried to kill you on more than one occasion, and wipe mother Earth from the galactic map, start a catastrophic war—”

  “How you feel is irrelevant to me,” James said.

  Precisely what Aaron was thinking. “Just so we’re clear, the risk you took is irrelevant to me. I don’t care if this place tumbles around you. I’d just as soon bury you myself.”

  Ben James didn’t respond.

  The Immortal might want to convince Aaron he was helping because of some good-natured instinct, but despite how much he claimed to have diverged from the Ben James on Atlas, some semblance of his personality must still remain. He must have been predisposed to the actions of the latter, and by his own admission, they still detested Earth’s descendants on the other side of the wormhole. Not for one moment did Aaron believe only Kane posed a threat to Earth. It was more likely Ben James didn’t have a choice to take action.

  Kane was out of control.

  “Here,” he gave them a flat object. “Affix this to your suit. It will block the base’s dampening field and restore power to your weapons and other devices. Lieutenant Delaine is beyond these doors on the hangar deck. I had her brought to your captured vessel when the assault began. My people are waiting to extract me. I’ve taken you this far. I don’t intend to be a casualty. Kane has discovered that I am here. We will meet again Aaron Rayne, of that I am sure. I’ve told you there are many wonders out here beyond your frontier, close to our galaxy’s edge. One day you might grow curious. Seek me then if you can put aside your ill feelings towards us.”

  The image of the other Ben James holding a pistol to his head on Atlas flashed in his mind. Aaron would sooner snap the man’s neck. “I would say thanks, but since I largely feel you're responsible for us even being here, I’ll just accept that you made wrong things right. This time.”

  Ben James grinned and disappeared through an opening in the wall Aaron hadn’t realized was there.

  Aaron stared at the hangar doors.

  “Lee?” he called, not taking his eyes away.

  “Ready.”

  The doors hissed. Aaron took a deep breath.

  Once more unto the breach, dear friends.

  ***

  The fighting must be intense on the other side. Pulse blasts roared and echoed, mixed with deafening pulse grenade explosions. The hangar doors parted revealing a vast space. Troop transports, shuttles, and fighter craft littered the bay, in ways which told Aaron they’d made hasty landings before the battle began. Reliant was off to the far side. The hangar bay now resembled an artificial battlefield.

  The defenders, loyal to Kane, exchanged pulse laser fire with the attackers loyal to Ben James and The Old Ones.

  Both sides deployed heavy weapons, antipersonnel missiles, and rapid-firing pulse cannons. Burned, bent, broken and scorched barricades scattered the battle area. Defending troopers dashed forwards and sideways throughout the bay.

  Lee and Aaron were behind the Kane loyalists.

  Aaron tapped Lee on the shoulder and knelt next to him. “Two orders. Don’t get killed and do your worst. I’ll secure Rachael and Reyes. I’ll signal when I’ve got them.”

  Lee nodded, unshouldered his kinetic rifle and gave Aaron a gentle fist on the chest.

  “Go.”

  ***

  The Commander bounded off to Reliant. Lee fixed his eyes on the first group of Kane loyalists behind a barricade, cowering from withering pulse laser fire.

  Hopefully, Ben James had told his people about the Commander and Lee since the clone or whatever he was, had been kind enough to tell them which side was which. Looking around the bay, Lee observed many defending ORA troops didn’t wear armor or helmets. The attack must have been sudden, it didn’t seem like the defenders had much time to prepare. It certainly appeared that way since when Aaron and Lee had arrived in orbit, everything was quiet. This fleet and invasion force could have just come through a wormhole into Velon.

  Lee held his fire. He didn’t want to give away his position. Everyone nearest him on this side of the bay would soon notice him, anyway, but he didn’t want to kill these wretches either. From what he understood, they’d been misled. Still, a man had to think for himself. Yet it wasn’t easy if it’s all you’re taught from the beginning.

  If hatred is learned and not inherent then how does one become other than what one has been taught, what else have you been taught that can counter the hatred? Other than perhaps a deep down feeling that you’re doing something wrong. He drew his plasma blade and advanced. He’d try his best to spare them.

  But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t hurt them.

  The first trooper turned to him with a raised weapon. Lee slashed the barrel off the pulse rifle and knocked the man clear across the hangar bay. No one really noticed in the ongoing melees and firefights spread out across the din.

  The rest of the closest enemy group finally spotted him, turning towards him all at once. The first one advanced and Lee kicked him across the face with his right foot. Spinning with his momentum, Lee went down on one knee, as a trooper fired a pulse blast above his head. Lee sliced off that one’s foot. The blade cauterized flesh. The trooper would live.

  Surging from his crouch, Lee slapped the other two away with his arm as they raised their weapons. Another group to his right near to Reliant took notice.

  Lee grabbed a nearby barricade with his arm and dragged it in front him. He could move it but it was too heavy to throw.

  The pulse blasts struck.

  After the incoming fire subsided, Lee slapped his cover away. He leaned forward, crouched and activated his jump pack. He skated on his boots along the bay toward
s the new group. The troopers scrambled out of his way and took aim, but before they got a shot off, he hit the jump pack again, and was forty feet away, towards the direction of Reliant.

  Unfortunately for the group he passed, they had exposed themselves and Ben James’ attacking troopers made them pay for it. Several other defending groups noticed Lee but weren’t able to focus any attention his way—they were busy holding back the advancing legion of doom in blue.

  Lee zoned in on a new group. These goons operated a heavy pulse turret. It pinned down a column of Ben James’ people from advancing into the hangar. Anyone who tried was blasted, and the powerful pulse laser incinerated half their body even through armor. At that rate of attrition, the defenders might hold them off. That wasn’t good.

  If the defenders created a lull in the battle by beating back Ben James’ people, that would leave Aaron and him exposed.

  After dealing with the four troopers at the base of the pulse turret, he tried smashing it with his arm. The resulting contact gave him an instant headache. He should first have noted the material composition of the pylons on his HUD.

  Pulse blasts ripped the deck next to him. He flattened himself against a nearby barricade as more blew past. The group to his, left twenty meters away, advanced. These troopers knew they had to keep their turret firing.

  Lee returned fire with his KR, sending them scampering. The advancing troopers exploded in puffs of red as his high-speed projectiles breached their armor. He still didn’t want to kill them but this group forced his hand.

  Clang!

  And object struck the deck and rolled next to him. Damn it.

  Lee dove over the barricade onto his side. The explosive force from the pulse grenade careened the barricade into him, he used his arm to brace himself against it, and it pushed him along the deck towards the hangar bay’s exit.

  He leaped over the barricade while it was still moving and fired at the troopers as he sprinted towards the pulse turret. He had just the right tool to silence that thing.