But it was either my daughter’s life or that of Luxarn Pervenio’s son. I’d given the richest man in Sol and his corporation everything up to that point, but I couldn’t give him her.
“To ensure the safety of human propagation. Right, Zhaff?” I asked.
He stopped what he was doing and glared at me as if he realized something was wrong. His eye-lens angled toward my hand as my finger threaded the trigger of my pistol. I hoped that he wouldn’t, but without hesitation, he reached for his holstered gun.
I was too slow on Undina. I was too slow in the wilderness of Earth. But I wasn’t too slow then. I got my pistol up first and planted a bullet in his visor. He crumpled to his knees, but his own gun never left his hand. Not even when his body folded over.
Aria shrieked, and I took a few quick steps toward her before a sharp pain in my side caused me to collapse as well.
I knew what was wrong before looking down. Zhaff didn’t get the shot he wanted, but he had gotten one off. It’d hit me in the quad, direct enough to pierce clean through my armor. As always, my partner was full of surprises.
I dropped my pistol and covered the wound with the palm of my hand, but the glacial atmosphere of Titan was already getting through. The pain began only as a tingle.
“You’re hit!” Aria howled, snapping out of her state of shock. She stumbled over and bent down above me.
“I’ll be fine!” I grated. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to ignore the sting in my leg, which magnified rapidly.
“I’ll get you back inside. You’ll die out here!” She grabbed my arms and started dragging me back to the tunnel.
“There’s no time!” I shook her off and pointed to the container with my pistol. Speaking was getting difficult. The area directly inside the wound got so cold that it burned like molten metal, the sensation quickly spreading up and down my limb without respite. An iciness I thought impossible sent my whole body into a shiver. Each word I spoke labored through long, winded breaths.
“They’ll find me in there, and I’ll be dead anyway for killing him,” I said.
“Then I’ll carry you with me!” She knelt and tried to dig her hands under my body, but I nudged her away with my elbow. She was likely strong enough on Titan to carry both me and the medical containers, but not to do that and fly as fast as she’d need to avoid the ships Zhaff had signaled for as well as the approaching storm.
“No, you have to leave,” I whispered, clenching my teeth. “Just do me a favor first.”
She pulled me closer. “Anything.”
“Don’t waste this chance. They don’t come often. Get out of this life and take that kid with you. Don’t do to him what I did to you.”
I saw the internal struggle written all over her face, and I couldn’t help but picture her as a little girl refusing to eat another yeasty ration bar. It was the same stubbornness that had likely led her to Venta Co and to helping the Ringers in the first place. I wasn’t a stranger to it. It was what had kept me gallivanting around Sol for so many years.
But as I regarded her, I finally understood how that Ringer on Earth could pull the trigger on himself so easily. Standing for all those people in the chambers behind us, rotting for no other reason than being born on the wrong world, was a cause worth dying for. Just like dying to keep her alive was for me, no matter what the cost.
“Now get out of here before it’s too late!” I yelled. One last order to the first partner I ever had. “And don’t look back.”
She peered back at Zhaff’s body with wet eyes, then tightened her lips and nodded. “I won’t forget.”
I reached into my belt and removed her old Ark figurine, barely able to fit my quaking hand into the pouch. I placed it in her palm, which shook as much as mine was. She stared at the toy, and I stared at her beautiful face. “Aria… I was never the dad you deserved. I hope you can forgive me for… everything.”
She placed a silencing finger over my visor. Her tear-filled eyes locked with mine for what seemed like an eternity. She leaned down until our visors tapped. A tear splashed onto the inside of hers as her eyes closed. Then, without further hesitation, she stood and picked up the two containers. There was another brief pause, and then I heard the whir of her winged suit as she took to the air.
She was gone.
I could no longer hold back the howl festering at the bottom of my throat. I released it as I attempted to drag myself back into the tunnel. The sting in my side was too painful. I needed one hand to cover the wound and didn’t have enough strength with the other.
A pained laugh slipped through my lips as I reached Zhaff’s body and gave up. “Maybe I really should have exercised more,” I said to his body. “We would’ve made a hell of a team out here, I think—finding bombers, uncovering smugglers. We had a good run, my friend.”
I grabbed his hand and squeezed it, and as I did, a tear rolled down my cheek. Maybe it was drawn out by the pain, but I couldn’t be sure. It’d been an eternity since I could remember crying.
I rolled onto my back and turned my head toward his. My shot had gone straight through his eye-lens, and the change in pressure from his pierced visor had caused the pieces to try and rush out, jamming the hole closed. I was grateful for it; otherwise, I’d have had to see his head drained like an empty sack of fruits. The bullet entered at the top of his cheek, and with the eye-lens broken, I could see the color of his real eye one last time.
I wasn’t sure what would happen when Luxarn Pervenio found his body outside a Ringer quarantine zone, but I knew he wouldn’t think to blame his death on a loyal collector like me. He’d blame it on every Ringer in existence. If the hunger I saw in his face when we met wasn’t only a mask he wore for show, then Luxarn would crash down upon the people of Titan like a god with a hammer. He’d condemn them or worse, invade the quarantine at my back out of vengeance. Then the Children of Titan would get the rebellion they so desperately craved. All in the name of credits and a son Luxarn was too proud to reveal to the world.
“Family...” I grumbled. “I hope you understand, Zhaff.” I knew he wouldn’t have.
Another wave of discomfort gripped me and caused me to clench my jaw. I turned toward the sky as it did. It was murky, just like I was used to where I grew up—no sun to be found. But there was something up there that I didn’t anticipate. Something I’ve been told is as rare to see as a lunar eclipse on Earth, yet there it was. The storm drew ever nearer, but the area directly in its path was clear enough that I could see the silhouette of Saturn’s Rings beyond the shroud.
For some reason, the sight was more striking from my unexpected vantage point than it ever had been from space. After a few more futile attempts at crawling into the tunnel, I rolled over and was happy to stare. It’s rare for a collector to get a chance to really stop and appreciate a stunning view.
I grew faint, but even as my vision went blurry, I couldn’t take my eyes off it. Not until the pain transitioned to numbness, my shivering stopped, and everything went black.
Epilogue
Luxarn Pervenio stared through the viewport of his office, watching as the orange orb of Titan passed by in orbit. He’d been waiting to hear word about the operation down there for some time. His best men were on the trail of the Children of Titan, and soon he’d be able to wipe them off the Ring for good and return operations to normal.
This was exactly the kind of mission Zhaff was trained for. It was the purpose he’d given him when his son’s future seemed so bleak. A field trainer like Malcolm Graves was the final piece of the puzzle in getting him ready to help Pervenio into its next stage of expansion.
“Bot, get me a drink,” he said to the spherical robot floating next to him.
“Yes, sir,” it replied. It hovered over to his private bar. “What would you li… li… li…” A processing error caused the bot to lose control, float too far, and knock over a bottle. When it spun back, a red circle wrapped its viewing lens and started to blink.
Luxarn sighed. �
�Glitching again.”
He was on his way to it, when a voice came through his desk coms. “Mr. Pervenio, I have to speak with you immediately,” Director Sodervall said.
Luxarn rubbed his temples between his thumb and forefinger. Sodervall was a loyal, hardworking man, but he’d been around for so long the sight of him brought up too many bad memories of affairs on the Ring. Luxarn kept thinking he’d retire and live out his life with all the wealth he’d earned, but the years came and went, and Sodervall stayed put.
It’s time for some new blood, Luxarn thought.
“Go ahead,” he said out loud.
“In person,” Sodervall replied. “I’ll be there shortly.”
“Fine.”
Luxarn popped open the control pad on the service bot’s chassis and set its boosters to lower it to the ground. Then he raised his hand terminal to it and dug into its programming. He was nearly lost in the wonderful, organized chaos of coding when his door whooshed open.
“What is it, Sodervall?” Luxarn said without looking up. “I only have time for good news.”
Sodervall rushed in, and the door closed behind him. He was short on breath. “It’s agents Zhaff and Graves, sir,” he said. “We made contact. They located a Children of Titan hideout burrowed underneath the Darien Quarantine where we believe the stolen supplies from Earth were taken. Zha—”
“Excellent! I trust that proper preparations are being made?”
“Of course. Sir, listen to me.” He paused for a moment. “Agent Zhaff was found shot outside.”
The breath caught in Luxarn’s throat. “Is he all right?”
“I’m waiting for another update, but… it was in the head, sir.”
Luxarn’s stomach sank. A very human chill ran up his spine. He had to lean on the bot and turn away from the director. It was a feeling he hadn’t experienced since his father died. Fear, doubt, a lack of control like when he was handed the reins to an empire.
“And Graves?” he said, voice shaking.
“We’re still thawing him, but it doesn’t look good.” A longer period of silence passed until, finally, Director Sodervall intervened. “Sir, what do you want me to do?”
“My father should have let these inbred Ringers die off when we had the chance!” Luxarn punched the bot’s control panel, shattering the screen. He drew his knuckles back, covered in scrapes and blood.
“I agree, sir,” Sodervall said. “They’re a cancer to Sol. But it’s too late now. I need to know what you want me to do.”
“To do?” The fury in Luxarn’s tone was palpable. He stalked toward the director, making him shrink back in fear. “I want the Children of Titan exterminated, director! I want this Kale Drayton delivered to me in cuffs! Space every survivor from the Piccolo until one of them tells us the truth.”
Sodervall recoiled further as spit spattered all over his face. “I…I’ll get right to it, sir,” he said.
“You damn well better! I don’t care what it takes, but you will restore order down there. Tear that quarantine to pieces if you have to.”
“Sir,” Sodervall began. “I don’t think that’s—”
“Just do it, Sodervall! If you hadn’t allowed things to get so dreadful down there, none of this would have happened. My s—Zhaff’s blood is on your hands!” His lungs ran out of air, and he had to pause. Blood rushing to his head and shock nearly caused him to fall.
“Sir, are you okay?” Sodervall asked, taking his arm to keep him upright.
“I’m fine!” Luxarn screamed as he pushed him away. “Now find Kale Drayton and end this insurgency, or by Earth, I’ll find somebody who can, and you can join the skellies in an airlock.”
Sodervall swallowed audibly. “I’ll handle it, sir.” He swept out of the room without another word. The moment he got outside, Luxarn could hear him shouting at officers.
Luxarn made it to his desk and pressed all his weight against it. His breathing hastened, faster and faster until he started hyperventilating. He knocked a globe off as he scrambled for one of his drawers. He rifled through for a stress-reducing injection and jabbed the pack into his arm. A few short breaths later, he exhaled slowly through teeth and closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, Titan stared back at him through his viewport. On the back of its people, he’d grown Pervenio Corp into the most influential entity in all of Sol. But even all that impossible wealth couldn’t purchase back the health of a bastard son he’d sent down to die on the world that had provided so much. A son barely a soul knew about but for the man who’d gone down with him.
Stars shone beyond the orange moon. He was so near to them now. Humanity was so near. But for the first time in his life, Luxarn wondered if the cost was more than he could bear.
This concludes Titanborn, but Titan’s Son, Book 2 in the Children of Titan Series, takes the story to the other side of the conflict. Titan's revolution has only just begun...
•Is Malcolm Graves really dead—or destined to fight forever?
•Did Luxarn Pervenio finally push too far by ordering men into the Darien Quarantine?
•Who will rise to lead the Children of Titan?
Find out what happens next!
THE CHILDREN OF TITAN BOOK TWO
TITAN’S SON
Prologue
Peter Sildario, captain of the Sunfire, fell forward onto Rin’s naked chest. The middle-aged Ringer woman lay on her back near the edge of his bed, one arm pinned beneath his body and the other gripping the blunt end of a shiv carved out of a rusty metal bolt. She’d stuck it into the captain’s throat, and not even his fat fingers could keep the blood from pouring all over her.
At first, his body twitched while she held it there, then he went still. She tried to slither free, but the layer of sweat and blood smeared across her pasty skin didn’t help. His Earther body was too heavy considering how deep the Sunfire flew within the atmosphere of Saturn.
Her ribs grew sore under his weight, making it difficult to breathe, and after a minute, she imagined she might suffocate. She’d never wanted to be a maintenance worker on a gas-harvester in the first place and had only done so for the good of her people… Now she was going to die on one. She wasn’t as afraid as she thought she’d be; she only wished she could pass on far away from the captain’s foul stench.
Three pairs of gloved hands slipped between his body and hers just before the weight caused her to pass out. They pried him up just barely enough for her to slip out from beneath his sagging belly.
She tumbled to the floor, gasping for air. The captain was rolled back onto his chest, half-hanging off the bed with his face dipped in a deepening pool of his own blood.
“We heard screams,” a Ringer com operator named Hayes said as he ran in, his tone panicked. He too was born on the icy surface of Titan and had a permanently crooked nose that had been broken by security too many times. “What the hell did you do, Rin?”
“Trass, he’s dead,” said Joran, who, like Rin, was a Sunfire maintenance worker.
Rin ignored them. She lunged at the captain and punched him in the side. The fat on his stomach jiggled, but the weighty corpse barely budged. “How does that feel, Captain!” she screamed as she struck him again. “You like that! You want it harder?”
Gareth, the third Ringer who’d helped dislodge her, grabbed her by the shoulders and tore her away from the corpse. Working with the engines made Gareth the strongest of them despite him also being a Ringer, so he picked her up and sat her on the red-stained bed.
“Are you all right?” he signed with his long, thin-fingered hands. His tongue had been sliced off at the back of his throat by the Earther captain lying dead before them, so he couldn’t speak. They called it a work accident.
Rin glanced down. Her boiler suit was torn along the back, so far down so that it wrapped around her thighs. Rows of finger-shaped marks along her slender hips stuck out against her white flesh as if drawn on with a pink highlighter. She was almost entirely exposed to th
e germ-infested air, a rare sight for a Ringer outside of the Lowers. Her three saviors were clothed from head to toe in boiler suits and wore sanitary masks and gloves as was customary.
“I’m fine,” she panted, throwing her arms back through her still intact sleeves. Gareth helped her. The fit was loose from having been stretched time and time again by the voracious captain. Hayes took a step to help as well, then regarded the bloody captain and stopped.
“You’ve really done it now,” Hayes said. “They’ll space us all for this.”
“He deserved far worse,” Rin growled.
“Others will have heard the screams,” Joran said. “We’ve got to get you out of here.”
“Yeah, where are we going to go?” Hayes asked. He was sweating even more than Rin, his gaze glued to the body. “I hear Pluto is lovely this time of year.”
Gareth shot him an angry glare as he finished helping her back into what was left of her outfit.
“Just shut up, Hayes, and let me—” Rin was interrupted by the three-man Sunfire security team suddenly appearing in the room’s entrance. All of them were Earthers, painting short, broad figures compared with her tall, slender one. They wore dated suits of Pervenio Corp-fashioned armor, but their shock-batons were top-of-the-line, tips crackling a vibrant blue.
“You skelly bitch!” one of them yelled. They rushed into the room, weapons raised.
Gareth didn’t hesitate. He ripped the shiv out of the captain’s neck and charged. He was naturally weaker than the Earthers, but he’d grown up a brawler in a fighting pit deep in Titan’s Darien Lowers. Joran promptly followed, and though he wasn’t a fighter, he knew how to hold his own as a distraction. Hayes wasn’t as lucky. He froze somewhere between fleeing and fighting and got prodded in the side by a shock-baton. His convulsing body toppled forward, vomit spewing from his mouth.
Children of Titan Series: Books 1-4: (A Space Opera Thriller Box Set) Page 24