The Glorious Becoming (Epic)

by Lee Stephen

  SVETLANA WAS IN the infirmary, working tediously on her medical reports beneath the glow of a desk lamp. Several feet away, Max dozed with his feet propped on a chair.

  “THAT CANNOT BE right!” the radar operator said.

  Several seats down, a communications operator screamed emphatically into his mic. “NovCom to inbound aircraft, I ask again, please respond!”

  Voices erupted everywhere.

  “Now reading fifty contacts!”

  “Should we go to red alert?”

  “Sixty!”

  * * *

  CAIRO

  “SO,” NATALIE SAID, holding up a finger, “I want one rule tonight. No talking about work. We can talk about this morning’s mission, but only about how awesome it was. No talking points, no agendas, no actual work. Sounds good?”

  Scott laughed softly. “Sounds good.” If she only knew what they were about to talk about.

  “By the way,” she said, eyeing him coyly, “are we walking anywhere in particular?”

  “Eh.” He scanned their surroundings. He needed to take her somewhere away from everything else. Where he could disclose the truth in private. “I just thought we’d wander around a bit. It’s kind of nice out here.”

  “Yeah, it is.” Looking against the night breeze, Natalie stared at the sky. It was clear as glass. Though far from being totally dark, the outer grounds of Cairo caused far less light pollution than Novosibirsk. The stars actually shone. “So, to where shall we wander?” she asked.

  As hard as he fought to maintain an outer display of pleasantness, his heart ached harder. Nothing about this was going to be easy. Scanning the area, he nodded at some shallow hills in the distance. “You ever been over there?”

  “Those hills? Can’t say that I have.”

  “Let’s head that way.”

  * * *

  NOVOSIBIRSK

  “NOVCOM TO GENERAL Thoor,” screamed the operator, “we need you immediately!”

  “They are coming from every direction—everywhere!”

  Thoor grunted gravelly over the channel. “This is Thoor. What is it?”

  “General, we have...”

  “Ninety-five!”

  “...ninety-five aircraft inbound to Novosibirsk!”

  “What?” Thoor asked. “Who?”

  The radar operator was sweating. “There are so many signatures, I cannot even pinpoint! Richmond, Atlanta, Nagoya, Berlin!” He looked atNovCom’s supervising officer. “It looks like everyone!”

  * * *

  CAIRO

  MAKING HER WAY down the hall, Esther stopped in front of Giro’s office. There was no one else anywhere. The tingle worsened. Lifting her fist hesitantly, she rapped her knuckles on the door.

  “Calliope?” Giro called from inside.

  “Yes, it’s me.”

  “Good! Please, come in!”

  Turning the knob, Esther eased the door open and walked inside. She froze after only her second step.

  SCOTT GLANCED BEHIND him. “I don’t have to worry about Lieutenant Marshall stalking us, do I?”

  Chuckling softly, Natalie shook her head. “What I do with my personal time is my business. He doesn’t even know we’re out here.”

  GIRO HOLMES WAS standing behind his desk, arms folded sternly. The spectacled eyes that met Esther weren’t pleased or excited. And he wasn’t alone. Standing uncomfortably several feet away was Janice. Then Esther saw the guards. There was a pair of them, each at the front corners of the room. The moment Esther had stepped inside, she’d placed herself between them.

  Inhaling deeply, Giro lifted his chin. “I hire good people, Miss Lee. Dedicated people who take pride in their work.”

  The color drained from Esther’s face.

  * * *

  NOVOSIBIRSK

  ALERT SIRENS WAILED across Novosibirsk. The sleeping occupants of Room 14 leapt up in their beds.

  “What the?” asked a groggy David.

  A frantic Russian voice emerged over the base-wide comm. He spoke in Russian, then English. “This is not a drill! This is not a drill! Novosibirsk is under attack!”

  Becan stared wide-eyed. “Oh, bollocks!”

  SLIDING OUT FROM the Pariah’s control panel, Travis shot a look at Tiffany. The blonde was kicking to her feet. “Did you just hear that?” he asked.

  Neck lifted and ears perked, Flopper began to howl.

  SVETLANA SWIVELED around in her infirmary chair. Max was already lurching upright.

  IN NOVCOM TOWER, the radar operator screamed. “Missiles incoming!” The tower occupants bolted for the stairwell. The missiles struck.

  Outside, the first wave of Vulture transports descended on the airstrip. The foremost transport—a Mark-2 with a brazen letter V ordaining its nose—kicked in its braking thrusters. Under the cover of Superwolves, the ship touched down.

  It was purple and white.

  * * *

  CAIRO

  GIRO CONTINUNED. “So when Janice was led to believe that she’d forgotten about your appointment,” Giro said, “she sought an explanation. Had another call distracted her from writing it down? Had she been called away from her desk? Why didn’t she remember speaking to you?”

  Behind Esther in the hallway, two more guards stopped by the door. The pair from the hub entrance. The scout’s gaze refocused on Giro and Janice.

  “Being the diligent worker that Janice is, she took it upon herself to go back and listen to her calls. First she went back two months. Then three. Then four, each time listening to the first few seconds of each conversation, waiting to hear your voice. But she never did.” He leaned forward. “On a hunch, she decided to call Sydney. She spoke to Amisha herself. Their Confinement is not expanding, and Amisha has never heard of you.”

  The first traces of sweat dripped from Esther’s scalp. The inner guards slid their hands over their holsters.

  “So I will ask you only once, Miss Lee,” Giro said. “Who are you really, and why are you here?”

  * * *

  NOVOSIBIRSK

  A FIERY PLUME reached for the heavens whenNovCom tower fell; the earth rumbled. As squadrons of Superwolves concentrated their fire on Novosibirsk’s turrets, EDEN’s ground forces touched down.

  * * *

  CAIRO

  “A PENNY FOR your thoughts,” Natalie said.

  They were at the edge of Cairo’s outer grounds; the hills still loomed ahead. It wasn’t quite time. “Let’s just walk for a bit,” Scott said.

  The depth of his tone seemed to catch her off guard. She offered an anxious expression, only to drift away into a stare of self-contemplation. Nodding, she followed.

  Scott stared at the night sky. The ancient explorers, the ocean-faring mariners, they’d all looked upon those same stars, with no knowledge as to what they really were. With no idea that around one of those stars, an alien species known as the Khuladi was enslaving those unfortunate enough to fall in their sights. That in the cosmic equivalent of a blink, that same species would be setting their sights on Earth. Interstellar Midway.

  This mission was important. If Earth was in jeopardy, nothing else mattered. Not Cairo, not the reputation of EDEN, not the threat on Svetlana’s life or his feelings for her. If there truly was a conspiracy, if Benjamin Archer truly was working with the enemy, it had to be revealed. Beginning with Natalie Rockwell.

  * * *

  NOVOSIBIRSK

  THE MACHINE WAS awash with the flashes of muzzle fire and streaking ammunition. EDEN squadrons buzzed Novosibirsk’s airspace. The Machine’s fighters never got off the ground—they were covered in every direction. Like ants from a ruptured mound, Nightmen poured from Novosibirsk’s main facilities.

  Travis and the Pariah were in the middle of it. As the Nightmen defenses mustered around the airstrip, he, Tiffany, and Flopper found themselves in the middle of the crossfire. Bullets zinged off the Pariah’s hull as EDEN and the Nightmen met head on. With Flopper cowering at his feet, Travis situated himself in the pilot�
�s seat and commed the rest of the unit. “This whole place is under attack! We’re stuck in the Pariah!”

  THE BARRACKS WERE as chaotic as the surface. The Nightmen were in a frenzy as whole units scrambled to throw on their armor. The building shook with vibrations of explosions.

  Dostoevsky burst into Room 14 just as Travis’s message came through. Everyone was already gearing up—instinct.

  “Yuri, what the hell’s going on?” David asked.

  The fulcrum captain had everyone’s attention. “EDEN is attacking Novosibirsk!”

  “EDEN?” asked Becan shockingly.

  Dostoevsky switched to Max’s frequency. “Max, can you hear me?”

  ON THE OTHER end of the line, Max and Svetlana bolted for the infirmary exit. With every earth-shaking boom, the pair struggled to maintain their footing. “We’re here!” Max answered. “We’re on our way to you!”

  “I do not understand,” Svetlana said. “Why would EDEN do this?”

  “I’ll give you three guesses,” answered Max, “and they’re all Strom Faerber!” Shoving the exit doors open, Max took two steps before skidding and turning around. He pushed Svetlana back inside. “Go back! Go back!” Seconds later, one of Novosibirsk’s guard towers toppled in front of the exit.

  * * *

  CAIRO

  SWEAT POURED FROM Esther’s body. The room suddenly felt suffocating.

  Giro watched her in silence, waiting for her to speak. When she failed to, he motioned to the guards. “Take Miss Lee into custody.”

  “Okay, wait,” Esther said, reaching out with her hand. The guards drew their handguns; she raised her hands in the air. “I’ll talk, I’ll talk! My name is Calliope Lee, but I’m not from Sydney.”

  “You expect me to believe that you infiltrated an EDEN base under your real name?” Giro asked.

  “It’s the truth,” she said, “I was sent here by EDEN Command. I’m a security specialist. There have been concerns about the soundness of Confinement facilities in major EDEN bases. I’m an audit, Holmes. I’m a test.”

  SCOTT SLOWED, staring at the hills in the distance. Beneath the light of the full moon, the desert’s surface looked blue. It looked magical.

  There was nothing else to think about, nothing else to consider. Do it. She was standing two feet behind him, silent and still. Waiting for him. Do it, Scott. Before his brain could wrap itself around the magnitude of what he was about to say, he began. “Natalie, I need to tell you something.” He was trembling. Even his words shook. Natalie remained silent. “If I sound nervous, you have to forgive me.”

  “It’s okay,” she said, her own voice quivering. She took a step closer. “I’m listening...”

  “I’VE ALREADY BEEN to Berlin and Dublin,” Esther said. “I was able to infiltrate both facilities, just like I was able to infiltrate yours. That you’re the first to actually uncover me speaks volumes.”

  Canting his head, Giro asked, “So you’re a security specialist sent by EDEN Command?”

  Esther sighed in defeat. “Yes. That’s who I am.”

  “What judge sent you?”

  Freezing, Esther stared across the room. Her mouth hung. It took her several seconds to reply—with the only name of a judge that she knew. “Benjamin Archer.”

  Giro looked at the guards immediately. “Put a call through to EDEN Command, to Judge Archer. I want this verified right now.”

  The guard nodded. He reached for his comm.

  In that moment, every ounce of hope inside of Esther evaporated. The call would go through, her identity would be refuted, and she would be apprehended. Her true identity—Esther Brooking—would be discovered. She’d be traced to Novosibirsk, to the Fourteenth. To Scott, to Auric, to Boris, to Jayden. Everything was about to explode. There was nothing she could do.

  Except for one thing.

  SCOTT’S BACK WAS still to Natalie. “If something was right, and you knew it was right, would you do it even if the rest of the world disagreed?” Scott asked.

  Natalie’s breathing grew heavier. “Yes. Yes, I would. In a second.”

  It was time. “Nat.” Turning around, his lips parted to confess. But they didn’t have a chance. Scott’s eyes widened as she came against him, body to body, mouth to mouth. She was kissing him.

  “No!” He mumbled, grabbing her arms and pushing her away. “Natalie, no! That’s not what this is about!”

  ESTHER DASHED AT the rightmost guard. He flinched and drew his sidearm—the other guards jumped. Sliding and thrusting her foot forward, she dislocated his knee. As he screamed and fell, she wrenched the pistol from his hand.

  Shocked, the other guards tried to train their weapons. The scout was too fast. She fired; the other inner guard’s faceplate burst open. Diving to the open door, she rolled to the ground right between the outer guards just as they fired. Flinging her leg over her head and into one of the guard’s faces, her high heel crushed his visor. He stumbled back as Esther focused on his partner, whose handgun was already trained. She dropped into a split as he shot; his bullet struck his disoriented partner. Esther whipped up her pistol and fired; the fourth guard fell. Leaping to her feet, she trained her weapon on Giro. His hand was frantically searching his desk for his panic button.

  “Don’t!” she screamed.

  It was too late. The scientist’s palm slapped upward. The overhead lights dimmed as red emergency lights flashed down the hall. A ring filled the air.

  Esther marched gun-first toward him. “Get back! Back against the wall!” The terrified Giro and Janice complied. “You have no idea what you’ve just done.”

  “Let her go,” cried Giro, pointing to Janice. “I know you came for me.”

  Water brimmed in Esther’s eyes. “We never came for you!” She motioned to his office closet. “Both of you, inside!” They crammed obediently into the closet’s small space. Breaking off the knob, she slammed the door shut.

  Toward the front of the room, the fallen guard whose knee Esther had dislocated crawled painfully toward one of the pistols on the floor. A final shot from Esther ended his quest. Janice screamed in the closet.

  Ditching her high heels, Esther dipped down and swapped her pistol with one that had full ammo. A black maxi dress wasn’t the best option for moving quickly, but at least it wasn’t a cashmere suit. Weapon in one hand and comm in the other, she bolted out of the office.

  SCOTT GAPED AT Natalie. She looked confused, panicked. Her face was flushed red. “I thought you were...” Her words trailed off confusedly.

  Scott opened his mouth to speak, but his comm cut him off.

  “Commander, it’s Brooking!”

  The voice was Esther’s. Why was she comming him?

  “Commander!” she screamed again.

  Growling irritably, Scott jerked up his comm. “Not a good time, Ess.”

  “I’m locked out of my room!”

  Scott’s eyes widened. Time slowed down. That was their code—their code for total mission failure. For immediate recall. In the background from Esther’s end, he could hear the ring of alarms. Urgent alarms, as if alerting of something serious. Like a security breach. Scott’s throat tightened.

  Natalie was still flummoxed. “Scott, what...?”

  How could this be happening? Total mission failure. It had to be a mistake!

  “Commander, please tell me you copy this!” Esther yelled.

  Like the flipping of a switch, Scott’s entire countenance changed. “I copy, Brooking. Sit tight!”

  “Locked out of her room?” asked Natalie. She was beet red. She had no idea what was going on. She was still flustered from the kiss. And probably eager to disappear. He would give her her wish.

  “You don’t happen to have your officers’ keycard on you, huh?”

  Avoiding eye contact, she nodded. “Yeah, it should be in my pocket.” Her voice was subdued—spinning. After a moment of digging, she felt them in her fatigues. “Who’s locked out? Brooking?”

  “Yes. Yes, that was Br
ooking.”

  “Do you want me to—”

  He nodded quickly. “Yeah, if you don’t mind.”

  “Okay. It’s okay.” She looked away from him. “I’ll open her room.”

  He’d affected her. The worst part was that he didn’t have time to care. “Nat...”

  She waved his words off. “Scott—I’m so sorry. I’m...” She looked on the verge of tears. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Turning away with her face down, she walked hurriedly away.

  I’m the one who’s sorry, Nat. I hope one day you forgive me. As soon as she was away from him, Scott whipped up his comm and queued in the others. “Auric, Jay, Boris, get on private channel.” Seconds later, the three signed on. “Where are you guys?”

  “Boris and I are in our room,” Jayden said.

  “I’m in mine, too,” said Auric.

  Scott’s voice was shaking. “Esther’s locked out of her room.”

  There was a distinct pause, until Jayden said alarmingly, “Holy veck, are you serious?”

  “Esther, where are you?” Scott asked, queuing her in.

  The scout’s voice was panicked. “I’m in Confinement!”

  “Auric, gear up and go after her.”

  “On my way.”

  “I need a sodding plan!” Esther screamed. Gunfire erupted over her comm.

  Scott growled. “Boris, you’ve got network access. Help her out!”

  “Da, captain!”

  Everything was happening too fast. He needed to focus. The slayers Antipov sent to Cairo to help us evacuate. I need to contact them. Antipov wrote their frequency on...

  ...on a piece of paper. On top of his dresser. Back in his room. Scott stuck his fingers through his hair. “Boris,” he said through his comm, “can you unlock my room with your stuff?”

  “Yes!”

  “Good. Do that, then start heading to me. I’m en route to one of our ships to start getting it prepped. Jay, I want you to go to my room and look on top of my dresser for a little slip of paper with a frequency on it. Call that frequency and tell them we need immediate evac—tell them who you are and that you’re with me.” He didn’t want Jayden to relay the frequency to him over the comm in the outside chance that someone was listening. Their current chatter didn’t matter—it was the frequency itself Scott wanted to protect. He had no choice but to trust Jayden to come through.