Chapter 63
Lucas tried not to but passed out on the way down. Sif was right—it was like a roller coaster. A roller coaster from hell, he thought. He came to just as Beagle touched down, and found he couldn’t move. Lucas was back in a one-g environment, and he might as well be paralyzed. Here he was, back on terra firma a few miles away from a place that was going to be blown to bits, and he was hopelessly stuck.
“God damn you, Sif. You always have to be the hero, don’t you?” He was angry with her, furious for putting herself in so much danger without even a second thought.
She mentioned the escape capsule, and maybe—if there was enough time—she could get to it and blast herself away before it was too late.
But time wasn’t going to be on her side.
Stephens made his way to Level Four, and after making sure most of the people in the ladder tunnel at least reached Level Two, he headed toward the labs.
The doors were sealed, but he knew the code. He opened the outer door, then quickly opened the second door, no longer caring if anyone in security control saw him. They were probably too busy with everything else the Resistance was doing to worry about keeping an eye on the lower-level security cameras.
The containment lab was cloaked in shadow, but his prize was just a few feet away, safely tucked away behind a thick pane of Plexiglas.
He was surprised to see Dr. Mattis—one of the Old Ones who caused all of this in the first place—standing outside the glass, staring at the Riy within.
“Step away, Mattis,” Stephens said.
Mattis didn’t react, as if he hadn’t heard a word. Stephens pulled his sidearm and moved closer, repeating his command. “Mattis, step away.”
Without turning his head, Mattis spoke. “It’s really quite a remarkable creature in its own right. Able to survive and flourish in environments where man cannot.”
Stephens decided shooting the man would be too merciful. He lowered his weapon and stepped to the containment room controls. He knew he probably wasn’t going to make it out of here alive, but it didn’t matter. Not anymore. As long as some of his people were able to taste freedom, real freedom, for the first time in their lives, then it would all be worth it.
“It wasn’t supposed to happen the way it did, you know,” Mattis continued, paying no attention to Stephens. “We were experimenting, taking the best qualities of one species and combining it with another to see what could survive, and then those terrible men destroyed the enclosure. All so unfortunate, so unfortunate . . .”
Stephens released the locks on the Plexiglas cover. It popped free, just an inch or so.
“All they wanted to do was kill it, but they never saw it for the noble beast it really is, a new species, able to conquer the entire planet. We should be on our knees, praying to it, worshipping it.”
Stephens hit the button to raise the cover. Mattis backed up, letting it open toward him. Then he stepped close, just a foot away from one of the drones.
“There you are, one of my princes of the day, so beautiful in your perfection . . .”
Stephens could take no more. He hit the lights, bathing the containment chamber and the entire lab in a blinding white light.
The effect on the drones—and the hive—was immediate.
The first drone stepped forward, bumping into Mattis.
As Stephens turned to run, he saw Mattis embrace the thing—like a father opening his arms to a long-lost child—then disappear in a swirling cloud of black mist.
The other drones stumbled out, and the hive, its huge black mass pulsating wildly, slid from the containment chamber.
Stephens ran from the lab, stopping at a comm panel. “This is Stephens, Level Four. Containment breach. The hive is out. I say again, the hive is out.”
He turned to run, knowing he bought his people more time to escape, but stopped. Standing before him was one of the drones.
The petals on its chest were peeling back.
Stephens smiled, placed the barrel of his pistol under his chin, and squeezed the trigger.
Chapter 64
Hunter stepped from the ladder tunnel into a small outbuilding within the Phoenix Complex’s fence line. It was early evening. Through a window, he saw the complex security personnel firing at what he assumed was the Resistance. They were firing back.
All at once, the security personnel retreated toward the main entrance, many of them falling as the Resistance continued to fire.
Are they surrendering? he wondered.
Behind him, Litsa and her people piled into the small building. They wouldn’t all be able to fit in here.
Hunter scanned the courtyard and spied a gaping hole in the perimeter fence.
A way out.
One of the Resistance fighters pointed toward the window and motioned for others to follow him. If these people weren’t the Resistance, then they were going to be sitting ducks.
As the man approached, he placed his rifle on the ground and raised his hands, motioning for Hunter to come out.
“The rest of you, stay in here,” Hunter said. And he opened the door.
“Colonel Hunter, we have to move, now. Get those people out of there and through the fence.”
Stephens said there would be help topside, and this must be it. He turned to the group of people packed into the building behind him. “There, through the fence. When you get through the breach, head south-southwest,” he said. “And keep running.”
Litsa stood by his side as her people streamed from the building’s door, racing toward the breach in the fence. “Take them as far as you can, Litsa, until you see Beagle,” Hunter instructed. “It shouldn’t be too far away. Sif will be there, with our other astronaut.”
“I’m not leaving without you,” she said.
Hunter looked at the man beside her. “You, what’s your name?”
“I am Jarrod.”
“Jarrod, you’re in charge, then. Get them away from here, now.”
When he hesitated, Litsa said, “Go, Jarrod, I will follow when I can.”
Jarrod nodded once, then took off toward the fence. As he ran, he caught a glint of sunlight from the nearest guard tower. He stopped, saw the rifle scope, and saw where it was aiming. “Litsa! Down now!”
Litsa bent over just as the first bullet slammed into the doorframe behind her, followed by the rifle’s crack.
The second shot would follow quickly. Hunter tackled Litsa, rolling across the ground.
A puff of dirt to his right, then another crack.
“Everybody down!” he screamed.
The Resistance forces were quick to react. A hail of automatic weapons fire enveloped the guard tower, which momentarily disappeared in a cloud of concrete dust.
Then, silence.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Litsa spat the dirt from her mouth. “I am not injured. We must go now.”
The last of her people were out of the building and running toward the breach in the fence.
Hunter grabbed Litsa’s hand and, together with the remaining members of the Resistance, ran into the wilderness, heading south-southwest.
President Carlisle sat alone in his office, watching the scene above-ground unfold on a video monitor. He knew the hive had escaped its confines, thanks to the stinking Resistance, and his security forces were forced to turn their attention to it, instead of the escapees.
The animals could be replaced simply enough, he knew. There were still a good many viable females on Level Five, more than enough to replenish their stock. Everyone running through the hole in the fence would be captured again, too. In time. Most would be killed, but some would choose to serve the complex in order to save their lives.
When they brought Lieutenant Colonel Webb back to the Phoenix Complex, though, he would personally shove the tube down the man’s throat.
And watch him die.
Chapter 65
Hunter saw Beagle in the distance, her nose sticking up into the sky, small tend
rils of smoke curling into the air from burnt vegetation. “There she is,” he said, pointing.
“That is your Beagle ship?” Litsa asked.
“It is, and the other ships we sent down should be nearby. Come on.”
It took them about twenty minutes to reach the landing site. All the while Hunter kept an eye to the sky, wondering when he would see Resolute come tearing though the atmosphere, and Litsa kept an eye out for Riy, as the sun was not entirely set yet, and she had no idea how far north they were.
When Hunter reached the ship, he pressed an emergency release lever, popping the exit door. He didn’t expect to see Lucas yet, as he was still probably trying to adjust to gravity, but was surprised Sif wasn’t outside the ship waiting for them.
He crawled inside. “Sif? Lucas?”
“I’m up here, and I’m too weak to get out of my damn seat.”
Hunter crawled up the crew access ladder into the cockpit. He was shocked to see Lucas all by himself. Before he could ask, Lucas answered his question.
“She stayed aboard Resolute, Hunter. The nav system failed right before we dropped. She’s bringing her in manually.”
Hunter’s heart sank, then he remembered the escape capsule. “She can use the capsule, then.” He didn’t like the look on Lucas’s face, and he didn’t want to ask his next question. “What aren’t you telling me, Lucas?”
“It was the main controller that failed, Hunter.” Without the controller, there was no other way to bring the ship down. “I’m sorry.”
Hunter reached for the radio controls. “Resolute, this is Beagle. Come in, please. Resolute, this is Beagle. Do you read?”
“She may not be in range yet,” Lucas said softly.
“Resolute, this is Beagle. Sif, this is Hunter. Talk to me, Sif.”
Lucas put his hand on Hunter’s arm. “She probably turned it off, Hunter.”
“Why the hell would she do that?” he snapped.
“Because she doesn’t want to say good-bye.”
The transmission was choppy, but she could tell who it was.
“—Beagle. Sif, this is Hu—Talk to me, Sif.”
At least she knew Lucas made it safely down to Earth, and Hunter was there with him.
Her fingers fluttered over the comm button—but she couldn’t make herself press it.
It’s better this way, she thought.
“Outer hull temperature rising rapidly, Commander.”
“Copy, Liv.” She knew the radio wouldn’t work anyway, as soon as the superheated plasma from reentry surrounded the ship. “Time to impact?”
“Time to impact nine minutes, fifty-five seconds. Would you like me to provide an audible countdown?”
Sif laughed. “No, Liv. That won’t be necessary. Status of main controller bypass?” Liv was attempting to restore automatic navigation control by finding an alternate path through other equipment.
“Bypass ongoing. Time to estimated completion eleven minutes, five seconds.”
Sif sighed. She didn’t have that much time.
“Hull temperature still increasing. Will reach critical levels in—”
“Liv complete. I don’t really want to know.”
Sif watched Resolute’s course on her screen, firing the thrusters whenever the ship started to drift off the projected path. It was getting more and more difficult as Resolute began to react with Earth’s atmosphere.
“Mains are off-line, Commander. Fuel is depleted.”
“Copy, Liv.”
Her forward velocity was now off the scale, and she would steepen her reentry angle using the thrusters right before the ship would presumably start coming apart. At that point, trying to get out was a nonstarter, as there were only seconds from that point until Resolute would impact.
Sif could feel the ship start to buffet. Outside her windows, flashes of light streaked by, orange and red. Soon, that would be all she would see.
And it would be the last thing she would ever see.
“—Sif—ome in, Sif—”
“Dammit, Hunter, let it go,” she said. “Just let it go.”
“Sif, this is Hunter. Pick up your damn mic, Sif.” Clear as a bell.
She pressed the comm button. “Hunter, this is Sif. I read you.”
She expected some sort of heart-wrenching emotional scene—but that wasn’t what she got. “Tell Liv to try bypassing the main controller through the D eight and D nine boards!”
“Liv, bypass the—”
“Liv copied all, will comply. Working.”
“Attagirl, Liv! Give me status as soon as you have it.”
“Liv will comply.”
“Hunter, Liv is giving it a try.”
“It might work, Sif, but don’t risk your life on it. You need to get the hell out of there.”
“And if it doesn’t, then Phoenix won’t be destroyed. You would do the same thing, Hunter. You might not admit it, but you would.”
“Dammit, Sif, I don’t want to lose you.”
Sif didn’t know what to say.
“I want you to get out, Sif. Get your butt in the escape capsule. That’s an order.”
“I can’t do that.”
“We’ll fight them another way, Sif. We’ll do it together—”
Liv’s voice. “Negative results with bypass attempt, Commander.”
So that was it. “Hunter, no joy. The bypass is a no-go. I’m taking her in myself.”
“Sif, please . . .”
The orange glow outside the windows was building, and Sif could hear the growl of static growing in the speaker. There were only a few seconds left until the radio would be worthless.
“Hunter, listen to me. I don’t have much time.” Sif could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, but she didn’t care. “It may not have seemed like it most of the time, but I think you’re one of the best pilots and officers I’ve ever met. This new world needs a leader, and I can’t think of anyone better.”
“Sif, don’t do this.”
“You know it has to be this way.” She was sobbing now. “Maybe one day you can make me that statue we talked about.”
“—Sif—”
“Do it right this time, okay? Don’t let them make the same mistakes again.” For me.
And then, nothing but static.
Sif wiped her eyes with her glove. “All right, Liv, let’s put this glorious bitch down right where we need to, okay?”
“Copy, Commander.”
The interior of the ship was getting hotter, enough that Sif could feel it through her suit.
“Sixty seconds until thruster pitch-over, Commander.”
“Copy, Liv. It’s been a pleasure.”
“Thank you, Commander.”
Outside, Sif could see nothing but the white glare of superheated plasma. The windows were beginning to delaminate and bubble, and before long, they would fail.
The ship was shaking like crazy.
She had only seconds to live.
She thought about her parents. About her dad. She could see him, larger than life, coming home from a deployment and kneeling down to take her in his arms as she ran to him.
“Here I come, Daddy,” she said. “I hope you can see this, and you’re proud of me. Your little Cate’s about to put the hammer down.”
She placed her hands on the thruster controls and closed her eyes.
“Nav system online and on automatic, Commander.”
“What? Repeat, Liv!”
“Nav system on line. Liv has taken control. Thruster pitch-over in thirty-five seconds.”
Sif reached for her straps as Resolute began to break apart.
Chapter 66
Hunter could see the glow, high in the sky to the northwest. He didn’t want to watch, but he owed Sif at least that much. She was sacrificing her life for him—for all of them—and as he glanced at Litsa, he realized Sif was sacrificing herself for all of humanity, as well.
“Is that the other ship?” Litsa asked.
Hu
nter nodded, unable to speak.
“And Sif, she is still inside?”
This time, he had to speak. “She’s making sure the ship hits exactly where it’s supposed to, Litsa. She’s not getting out.”
Litsa turned toward the escapees, her people now. “Warriors!” she yelled.
The glow grew brighter in the sky, and larger, as Resolute began her fiery descent.
Hunter could see many of them stand, staring up into the sky, their faces proud.
“Hear me!” Litsa yelled as she pointed toward the flaming glow in the sky. “A warrior dies for you today! Urrah!” she yelled, holding her fist high in the sky.
The others did the same. “Urrah!” they yelled in unison. “Urrah! Urrah! Urrah!”
The landscape brightened as Resolute fell—the ship burned up, parts of it breaking off, sending sparks and flaming contrails beside it. It flared brighter as the nose thrusters fired, and the ship arced almost straight down.
“You did it, Sif,” he said. “You really did it.”
They all watched as the huge, flaming mass streaked through the sky, roaring like an enraged lion, and shielded their eyes as it impacted the earth.
The ground shook, and Hunter yelled for everyone to take cover.
As the roar rolled over them and the shock wave hit, Hunter buried his face in the dirt. The new world lost a heroic soul, right when it needed one the most.
All he could see was her smiling face, telling him how great a pilot she was.
And she was right.
He would make sure no one would ever forget what she did here this day, and no one would ever forget the name Sif.
He sat up, looked behind him at the billowing mushroom cloud rising into the sky.
Hunter brought himself to attention and snapped a salute in tribute to Commander Caitlyn “Sif” Wagner, United States Navy.
“Shack, Navy,” he said quietly. “Right on target.”
Epilogue
Two weeks later
At final count, fifty-two people escaped the Phoenix Complex: twenty-seven of Litsa’s people and twenty-five members of the Resistance. At first the distrust between the two groups was difficult to handle, but Hunter was pleased to see that they were already starting to cooperate.
The Phoenix Descent Page 28