by Joshua James
“What do you have?” asked Ducar as he made sure to check every wall, behind every piece of furniture. His artificial eyes scanned every surface, looking for any kind of hidden structures.
“Saito was here. I can smell him.”
“You remember how he smells?”
“I remember everything,” Vesta stood up. “Looks like he fell here. No blood, so he doesn’t look to be injured. There was no way they could’ve gone out the front door. So—?”
“They went upstairs.” Ducar stood at the bottom of the stairs that led to LaFey’s apartment. He aimed his pistol up there, looking for any sign of movement. Having seen nothing, he started to slowly ascend them. Vesta followed.
Vesta slowly walked around the bed in the small surgical suite on the second floor. “Must’ve been in a hurry.”
“What do you mean?” asked Ducar from the other room. He investigated every nook and cranny for any sign of a secret room or hiding place. With the barrel of his pistol, he moved around the remnants of the group’s dinner still on the kitchen table.
“They left one of their friends behind. From the looks of her, she just had surgery. Probably wasn’t fit to move.” Vesta lifted up the sheet covering the woman and saw a clear flesh-fuse line on her stomach.
“Take her.”
Ducar opened the food dispenser. The racks were empty. He saw nothing but a collection of crusty leftovers and condiments on top of it. He closed it.
He sighed. “They’re gone. We can use her to lure them out.”
“If we move her, who knows how much damage that might do to her?” Vesta pointed out.
“As long as she doesn’t die, that’s all that matters. Have the heralds bring up a stretcher, if that would ease your mind. And hurry. We have a lot of work to do before they arrive.”
Thirty-Eight
Saito sat in his chair on the UEF Ulysses command deck, holding the Polaroid. The image of the dead AIC soldier was gone, replaced once more by the image of his family at the boardwalk.
He was a commander at this point, serving under Captain Royce. The picture had once served as a reminder of what he dreamed of returning home to. Now, after reliving the original memory, it only depressed him, especially since he knew what was about to happen.
“Now this is more like what we came for.” The Pale Man stood in front of the screens of the viewing window. Like the Atlas, the viewing window in the UEF Ulysses, also a dreadnought, was made up of dozens of video screens displaying the pictures from as many cameras on the ship’s exterior.
In the viewing window screen, the Pale Man and Saito both saw the surface of Aeruta far below. It was the closest AIC planet to UEF space, and needed to be obliterated. That way the Marines could move in, finish off any stragglers, and set up a new spacefield to launch UEF ships further into their enemies’ territories.
“Commander, notify flight command to deploy all fighters,” ordered Royce from her command chair.
“Yes, ma’am.” Late thirty-something Saito folded up and put away his Polaroid. He then tapped into his HUD. “Flight Command, this is Commander Saito. Deploy all fighters. I repeat, deploy all fighters.”
The Pale Man watched in fascination as a swarm of UEF fighters flew out of the dreadnought, five or six at a time. They flew around and under the UEF Ulysses, waiting for their next orders.
“Pay close attention, Saito,” instructed Royce. It was the veteran captain’s last flight. Next deployment, Saito would be taking the helm.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“What does she mean, pay close attention? Why?” asked the Pale Man. He turned away from the screens towards Saito as UEF fighter ships flew around on said screens behind him.
“I would command the Ulysses after this mission,” Saito said. “She wanted me to see what it took to be a captain. She wanted to make sure I knew that every decision a captain made in situations like this came at a price. The cost was human lives. She’s not… something’s wrong with her.”
“Okay, take us out of orbit, into the planet’s atmosphere. Time to start our bombing run. Commander, give the go-ahead to the fighters to engage. Comms silent for entry.”
Saito and the other crew on the Ulysses’ command deck stayed nervously silent as the dreadnought shook from its violent entry into Aeruta’s atmosphere. It wasn’t that which gave them pause or raised their heart rates, though. Ships were rarely destroyed on entry anymore. No, they were nervous about what would be waiting for them soon as they were inside.
“Redirect power to the shields on the bottom of the ship. Descend twenty thousand feet.” Royce barked orders as the Ulysses was immediately met with anti-air fire from turrets below on Aeruta’s surface. There were countless streaks of orange flying up past the dreadnought or hitting the shields. They were still too far up for flak guns or shredders.
It was Saito’s job to relay the captain’s orders, make sure they were fulfilled, and do more of the micro-managing of battle. For example, he instructed the squadrons of fighter ships to start their runs first.
The Pale Man watched intently as the UEF fighter ships ducked down through the clouds towards the planet’s surface. Royce’s dreadnought soon followed.
“Commander, update on the fighters’ strafing runs?” Royce asked.
“Green Leader, this is the command deck. Respond. Green Leader, this is command deck, please respond.” Saito tried to reach one of the fighter squadron’s leaders. He got nothing but static.
It wasn’t until the Ulysses descended all the way through the clouds that he and the rest of the crew saw what they were really in for. There were explosions in the sky everywhere. Flak cannon rounds exploded nearby, peppering the dreadnought’s shields. Fighters flew in every direction. Several were hit, on fire, barreling down towards the planet’s surface. Fire of all sorts erupted up from the ground.
“So much chaos,” the Pale Man said. “How do you manage to operate in all of this? With all these distractions?”
“You just do. Adrenaline, I guess, maybe. I don’t know how to describe it,” answered Saito.
“Starting bombing run,” said Royce, undaunted.
The Ulysses started its bombing run, armed with hundreds of thousands of explosives. As soon as they flew over the beginning of the target area, they started to fall.
As bombs dropped, quickly overwhelming Aeruta’s city shields and leveling the structures it uncovered, the Ulysses did not relent. The cannons that lined both sides and the bottom of the dreadnought fired on the planet’s surface. The result of all of this was just an inferno below that grew a little bigger with each explosion.
“Hell on Earth,” Saito murmured. He had forgotten just how complete the devastation was.
“I’ll be right back, Mr. Saito. I’d like to see what the rest of the crew is up to right now.” The Pale Man literally melted into the floor of the command deck.
Saito knew what was coming. In some sick, twisted way, he didn’t want the Pale Man to go. He didn’t want to face this again.
“Commander, do you see?” asked Royce. The look on her face was impossible to read. Weariness, maybe. Sadness. Determination. It was clear to Saito that she’d seen and been through enough.
“See what?” he managed. He knew what was going to happen, but he couldn’t will his body to act.
“How heavy the crown is,” Royce said.
She took out her pistol, put it in her mouth, and pulled the trigger.
Thirty-Nine
Saito stood there, slack-jawed, staring at her crumpled body as blood pooled under what was left of her head.
Other members of the crew, those not seeing to their downed captain, talked to Saito. They tried to tell him that he was in charge now. They were in the middle of an engagement. They asked what his orders were. He couldn’t hear them, and even if he could, he had nothing for them. He wasn’t ready.
“Mr. Saito.” Saito did hear the Pale Man’s voice behind him. With his signature wide smile, the alien put both
of his hands on Saito’s head. “Got what we need. Time to fast forward, friend.”
Saito and the Pale Man quickly cycled through a few memories. All they saw were brief glimpses. In one, Saito saw himself making passionate love to his wife. He caught her scent in the rapidly passing recollection.
One memory saw Saito on the command deck of his own ship. His son Ben was an adult, a lieutenant commander under him, yelling at him. It was on the UEF Valiant.
Ben was beside himself. “We can’t just leave them behind!”
“Lock the doors and turn off the life support. Then decouple the latches on engine room one, Lieutenant Commander,” ordered Saito. His voice was cold, his orders even colder.
“I can’t…I cannot follow that order, sir.”
Saito sighed. “Lieutenant Commander, that was an order.”
“I know. And I respectfully refuse it.”
Saito leaned in close to his son and second. “If you don’t do as I say, Ben, you will be thrown in the brig.”
“Better that than sentence good men to de—”
“Marines! Please relieve the lieutenant commander of his duties and take him down to the brig.”
“We need to return to this, Mr. Saito,” the Pale Man said. “Interesting, very interesting indeed. For now, though, we have work to do.”
“You should be honored, old friend,” said Admiral Chevenko. Saito found himself on an open-air elevator, only a grated metal wall separating the people inside from a fatal fall.
On the elevator were Saito, Admiral Chevenko, Lieutenant Commander Rollins, two Marines, and the Pale Man. They were at the shipyards in Annapolis, a secretive build site called Site C. Unlike other sites on the yards, it was closed off, the air space above it strictly restricted. Scramblers prevented space-bound drones or vessels from seeing it from orbit. Here, the UEF built their most secretive projects.
“I am, sir. This is…well, I don’t have the words to describe what an honor this is,” replied Saito. He was in his best dress uniform, complete with stars, bars and metals.
“I know how to describe it. Well-earned. You deserve this, especially after all you’ve given to the UEF, to the military, and to your planet. Your last command, you’re awarded the chance to end the war. I can’t think of anyone more suited for it.” Admiral Chevenko smiled, grabbed his old friend and subordinate by his shoulder, and playfully shook him.
“Is this it? Did we stop at the right memory?” asked the Pale Man.
“Depends on what you’re looking for. Because, come to think of it, you haven’t told me yet.”
“For the Atlas. We came for your ship,” answered the Pale Man.
“Why? What do you want with the Atlas?” Saito feared the Pale Man’s answer. He knew there was no way anything positive would come from this.
Sure enough, he was right.
“We need to see it clearly so we can replicate it. We want to see its inner workings, see how it’s operated, see how you command it. We wanted to be better at being you and your crew.”
Saito’s heart rate rose. He started to sweat. Suddenly his mouth felt really dry. “Why?” It was hard to even get the words out.
“So we can complete your mission. Bring peace between your UEF and AIC by introducing your once enemies to the Abyss. And honor you by wearing your face as we do it.”
Though Saito wanted to throw up, his memory self wouldn’t allow him to. He tried to do everything he could to wake up. He didn’t want to give the Pale Man what he wanted. But no matter what he did, from biting himself to banging his head against the walls of the elevator, nothing worked. The others in the elevator didn’t even notice his antics.
“It’s no use, Mr. Saito. Just cooperate. It’ll make everything easier.”
“I’m not giving you anything else!” Saito was determined, but he was fighting a losing battle.
The elevator reached the top. The door slid open, and there it was: the UEF Atlas. Mechanics and engineers were putting on the final touches, as it was only a week away from launch.
Seeing it there, one more time, Saito couldn’t help but admire the Atlas. That was before panic set back in, because he knew what came next and what that could lead to.
“Ready to take a look inside?” Admiral Chevenko asked, leading the way into the nearly-finished portion of the ship. “I want to show you what’s so special about this ship. It’s what will win this war for us.” He lowered his voice. “One way or the other.”
The Pale Man smiled as the group stepped off the lift. He looked at Saito with a twinkle in his eye. “I can hardly wait.”
Epilogue
City Sentinel Officer Lt. Ian Harmonie walked up to the entrance to the engineering marvel that was the space elevator connecting the surface of Vassar-1 to the gate in the planetary shield far above. He was about to start his second shift of the day.
There were crazy reports coming in from everywhere. Ian wasn’t a fan of pulling two shifts back-to-back, especially after what had happened in his first shift, but days like this made him glad he wasn’t a beat cop anymore. He’d probably get pulled into God knew what. The station duty might be boring, but it was safe. Ian liked safe.
“Please take a seat and pull down the restraints. Remember, these restraints are for your own safety.” A stale automated voice gave out instructions for anyone inside the elevator. In fact, the elevator was actually a climber car that ran the length of the tether cable, which extended well into space in geostationary orbit.
This afternoon, it was just Ian and a delivery boy.
Ian looked around. This part always made him nervous. Everything was rusty and old, underserviced. The space elevator and the station it was attached to had been around for as long as the city itself. It was considered one of the wonders of the modern colonies.
“Prepare for your ascension. Locking doors and restraints.” Ian heard the loud click of his restraints locking, and the door as well. Lights that lined the top of the elevator’s ceiling turned on and turned yellow. “Take off from the platform in five, four, three—”
Ian made eye contact with the teenage delivery driver across from him, who looked very nervous. It must’ve been his first time.
“Relax, kid,” Ian reassured him. “It’ll be over before you know it.”
“Two, one, lift off,” informed the automated voice in the elevator. With a bit of a jarring jolt up, the elevator quickly sped up towards the planetary shield station.
When he’d first started, Ian couldn’t look out the elevator windows on the way up. It had made him nauseous, but not anymore. Now it was his favorite part.
Ian watched as the vast, seemingly endless city of Vassar-1 got smaller and smaller. He looked at the ships, some Sentinel, some AIC military, and others civilian transports, flying by. All were careful to keep their distance as per the laws. A smile was fought back as they passed through the clouds. The delivery kid threw up in one of the vomit bags attached to the seat.
There was gravity and air pumped through the climber, and thanks to the artificial power assist, the long ascent was vastly faster than when it was first constructed. It would only take eight minutes.
Ian used the time to finish his formal report on the incident that had happened only a few short hours ago during his first shift. When he’d gone planetside, he’d first had to explain to the Sentinel Chief how and why they’d let a ship through the planet’s defenses. Then he had to do the same thing with the Defense Minister, the Director of Intelligence, and the governor of the district it landed in. To make matter worse, it looked like the ship was somehow related to the unrest that had broken out planetside.
Ian tried to put all of that out of his mind as the climber attached and coupled with the station. The doors opened and he hurried out, eager to get away from the smell of Chinese food and whatever the hell the kid had had for breakfast. He hurried past another Sentinel Officer who was waiting for the delivery into the station proper.
The shield station was
n’t large. There was a small cafeteria, some bathrooms, and other than that, just the control room. That was where Ian was meant to spent the next six hours.
“Bronson, Chien,” Ian greeted the two officers as soon as he entered the control room. Against three walls were controls and consoles used to monitor the planetary shields. The fourth wall was all thick viewing glass, where they could see the line of ships looking to get into Vassar-1.
“Hmph,” grunted Chien.
Bronson said nothing. He was on the comms while Chien manned the scanners.
“Anything exciting happen while I was gone?” asked Ian as he dropped off his stuff and walked over to and stood in front of the viewing window. “No more ships making a break for the gate, I take it.”
Chien shook her head. “This is wrong, LT!” She, like Bronson, had family down on Vassar-1, and they weren’t allowed to leave their posts to see if their loved ones were okay. All they could do was wait and watch the news. They couldn’t even do their jobs, since the planetary doors were ordered shut until further notice.
“Wrong or not, we don’t have a choice.” Ian sat down and rubbed his temples. He’d developed a stress-induced headache. All he could think about was whether or not he would lose his job.
“Don’t we, though? We can take the elevator down. It’s not shut down or locked off,” pointed out Bronson.
“And get arrested for abandoning our posts? Not worth it. Your family is fine. I’m sure of it. These attacks down there, they seem to be directed at the government and military, not civilians.” Ian knew that wasn’t true, but at the moment, he needed his team to calm down.
“Bullshit!” yelled Bronson. He threw his water bottle across the control room.
Ian watched Bronson’s water bottle roll across the control room and stop at the base of the viewing window. He looked up from the water bottle and saw something impossible.
“What in the world?” Ian gasped.