“Sorry, what did you say?” I asked, tearing my eyes away from the desert landscape.
“I asked if you knew if Preacher managed to contact the GG for the use of a satellite or to get us into the Hole?” Cassie looked at me through the top of the windshield where a squared-off section of the glass acted as a mirror. I could see concern etched in her eyes.
“Yeah, he hit me up on the comm when we pulled out of Dragon Hold,” I answered. “Major Valentine’s there now and she’ll make sure we get in to see Rival Mercer. Colonel Stryfe is working on getting us access to a satellite. He said he should have one he can grant us use of by the end of the day.”
I didn’t realize it until now, but as I spoke, my right hand traveled from my ear with my earpiece to the spot on my neck where X used to sit. My healing ability made it so there wasn’t so much as a hole there anymore. X was gone, as if she were only ever an illusion.
“I’ll make sure I shift into an appearance more normal as not to raise any suspicions when we enter New Vegas,” Laine said from her seat. “We’ll get answers from this Rival Mercer. I’ll right the wrong that was created by my family.”
“Does it hurt when you shift?” I asked, trying to get my mind off X and my dead parents. “Can you turn into anything or just other humanoid appearances?”
“It doesn’t hurt, but it does take some effort,” Laine answered. “I can only shift into other Cantz-like forms. That is the name of my species.”
“And Nemesis?” Cassie asked. “Where does he come from? What is he called?”
“Nemesis is an Ingaurd from the planet of Ogdun,” Laine explained. “My planet is Lope. We are within the same galaxy as one another. Our planets aren’t allies, but they tolerate each other. It’s a long-standing sin for a Cantz to marry a Ingaurd and the other way around. We just came here looking for a new start on a planet we thought was mostly deserted. How could we have been so mistaken?”
“I guess every galaxy is filled with bad species out for themselves and to cause harm to others,” Cassie mused out loud. “We’ve already come across another species who would have rather seen us as slaves than allies.”
“The Voy,” Laine nodded along. “The universe is a big place. I was unaware of the Voy, however. When they attacked Mars, it was the only thing anyone spoke of in Aleron’s camp.”
“Nemesis’ powers,” I asked, changing the subject. “I’ve seen something like them before. Carly, a human woman that goes by Madam Eternal, uses something very similar, but she explained hers is through advanced technology.”
“Ingaurds are all born with the ability to manipulate energy around them to some degree or another,” Laine answered. “I am not aware of a technology that would allow you to do the same.”
I silently nodded. I didn’t believe in coincidences. Whatever Madam Eternal used as her own technology had to be at least taken from the Ingaurds if she wasn’t one of them herself.
This was yet another question to add on an ever-growing list. What was most important now was X.
We drove, talking on and off in silence. Laine told us about her world and how many other planets and species were out there. She shared the general feeling about Earth, that we were a primitive species with nothing to offer and posed no threat.
Now that we defeated the Voy, that might change.
We ate a meal packed for us by Cryx. I smiled at the thought of the girl as I unwrapped a jug full of cold nitro-infused caf. There was a note on the bottle.
Daniel,
Don’t get killed. I’m practicing hard to go on a mission with you, and if you die, that would suck… a lot.
Cryx
After the meal, about midday, we arrived at the city of New Vegas. I had half expected to run into a roaming gang or maybe even Phoenix Corp. No such luck. It seemed all the other gangs were giving Aleron’s territory a wide berth.
Phoenix Corp must already be busy planting the super seeds around their mountain headquarters. I wanted to help them, but that would have to wait until we found X.
True to her word, Laine shimmered and shifted as we reached the outskirts of town. One second, a light layer of brown fur covered her face and exposed arms and hands. The next, a woman with blue eyes and light brown hair sat next to Cassie.
“Is this human enough?” Laine asked, adjusting herself in her clothes. She wore clothing now identical to my own with the exception of a large pair of goggle-like sunglasses.
“That works,” Cassie told her.
We rolled through the city of New Vegas, already catching sight of Galactic Government patrols. The Hole in New Vegas was the only GG headquarters left on Earth.
The Hole was a high security prison for the very worst our galaxy had to offer. Among them were terrorists, murderers, and war criminals. I had never been inside the Hole itself. The closest I had gotten was my first trip to Earth, where I caught a dropship with then Captain Zoe Valentine.
The city of New Vegas was old and sparse. Broken city streets were maintained just enough for the storekeepers to make a go at having a business. The local shops around the area were those suited to supporting a military installation. As such, you could imagine there were bars, tattoo parlors, a few diners, things like Holo theatres, and a hover bike shop.
We rolled through the town, garnering a few second looks from patrols of both on duty and off duty praetorian soldiers. Those in armor sported the familiar mustard-yellow gear with the dark blue head of a feline with protruding upper canines.
Only a handful of other vehicles were parked or traveled on the streets. In front of us, a security checkpoint with steel gates stopped our forward progress. Beyond that was a landing pad for the dropships to and off planet. A circular building rose from the ground a good ten stories.
The building itself carried a sense of doom and gloom. Plain brick with reinforced windows showed the portion of the Hole above ground. The bulk of the structure was below ground, where the prison inmates served their time.
Cassie rolled to a stop at the guard checkpoint. A pair of praetorians in full armor braved the heat. They walked out, scanning our vehicle for weapons or hidden explosives. A third praetorian not wearing his helmet came to the window.
Cassie rolled down her window with a smile.
“Hello, we’re here to see Major Zoe Valentine,” Cassie greeted the praetorian. “She’s expecting us.”
“Do you have identification?” the praetorian asked. He was a middle-aged man who looked like he had never missed a day of PT in his life. I wasn’t sure he had a neck either.
“Just my ID chip and the hero of Mars in the back seat.” Cassie blinked another smile at the praetorian, then threw a thumb behind her shoulder. “You heard about the alien invasion, right? I’m sure you saw the broadcast he did at his new estate on Earth?”
The praetorian immediately went from bored to interested. He craned his neck into the vehicle to get a look at me.
I put on what I thought my best celebrity grin and leaned forward. “Hello, it’s me. Apparently, I’m famous.”
“Oh crip! It is you!” The praetorian’s face broke into a wild smile. “Hey, Lobb, Varns, come over here! Look who’s come to visit the Hole!”
The pair of other two praetorians joined the man at the window.
“You know that guy on the holo viewer last night? The one they’re calling the hero of Mars who moved to Earth?” the praetorian asked. Without waiting for an answer, he continued, “He’s in the SUV!”
“What? No way!?” one of them said. He reached into the SUV to shake my hand. He looked to Cassie, who leaned back in her seat. “Excuse me, ma’am, but I’ve got to shake his hand. I’ve heard so many things about him. My sister was in the Battle for Mars. She told me stories of a wild man who went toe to toe with some kind of alien monster and ripped out all six of its eyes with his bare hands.”
“It was one eye with a knife but thanks,” I said, shaking his hand.
“Private Levion Lobb, great to meet you,
sir,” Levion said, pumping my hand.
“Oh, we need to get a picture. None of the guys are going to believe this.” The other praetorian, who had to be Varns, agreed. “Sir, can we take a picture with you?”
“I’d love to, guys, I really would, but we have a—”
“Of course the hero of Mars has time for a quick picture,” Cassie said over everyone else. “Come on, we’ll get out and everyone huddle around. I’ll take the picture.”
“Oh, thank you, ma’am. Thank you,” Levion said. He was so excited, I thought the guy might pass out. “I’ve never met a hero before.”
I stepped out of the SUV, shooting Cassie a look that said I hated her in that moment. She knew how much I despised the limelight.
She winked at me in turn, enjoying every second.
The praetorians huddled around me, all grins and laughs.
For a brief moment, I got a look at who I was in other people’s eyes. I was now a rich war hero/alien killer. I didn’t necessarily want to be any of those things. But heck, if it brought a smile to these guys, then maybe I could endure being that for them.
“Say hero of Mars who turned back the Voy invasion and now is a rich playboy,” Cassie said before she accepted a small handheld picture capture from Lavion.
“Hero of Mars who turned back the Voy invasion and now is a rich playboy,” all the praetorians repeated.
Cassie snapped the picture in the small viewer.
“Perfect,” Cassie said, handing back the camera. “You’ll have to post that everywhere in the barracks.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Private Varns said, looking over Levion’s shoulder to get an idea of how the picture turned out.
For her part, Laine stayed in the SUV during this interaction. I guessed she wanted to bring as little notice to herself as possible.
“Sergeant Tine!” A gruff no-nonsense voice cut through the jovial moment like Preacher’s sword through a mutated boar.
Immediately, all three praetorians stood at attention, panic in their eyes.
“Lieutenant Roche, sir!” Sergeant Tine, the praetorian who first greeted us at the window, said.
“What is the meaning of this?” A burly man with a buzzed haircut came into view. His armor made him seem larger than he really was. “Why are these civilians out of their vehicle?”
“Sir, this is the Hero of the Battle of Mars,” Sergeant Tine shouted, eyes forward, at attention.
Lieutenant Roche arrived, practically bristling with anger.
I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to stand at attention or salute myself. I was halfway to raising a hand to my head when Cassie slapped it down.
“Is this true?” the lieutenant asked, leaning in to look me up and down. “You do bear a striking resemblance to him. Although I thought you’d be bigger.”
“Oh, it’s me,” I answered. “Camera adds twenty pounds.”
We all waited as this lieutenant that inspired so much fear and respect in his men looked me over like some kind of show dog.
“All right, then, I’ll need to get a picture with you before we let you go.” The lieutenant smiled.
Eighteen
The Hole was one half Galactic Government space port and one half high security prison. Cassie followed a military-style jeep through the space port, skirting the landing pads as various dropships came to and from the planet.
Most of the ships were black with the Galactic Government symbol of the feline with large teeth. A few of them belonged to private companies or those rich enough to own their own ships.
I imagined at least one of the ships had brought the paparazzi to my door.
We followed our escort to the main circular building known as the Hole. The structure was as impressive as it was intimidating. No decoration touched the dark grey stone except for the long Galactic Government banners that hung down the side of the building.
The banner had to be five stories tall in its own right. These were dark blue with the mustard-yellow sigil of the Galactic Government animal.
Major Zoe Valentine walked from outside the building in a burned yellow uniform. She traded salutes with Lieutenant Roche as he exited his own vehicle.
“They’re all yours, ma’am,” the lieutenant said sharply.
“Thank you, Lieutenant Roche,” Zoe said, turning to the rest of us who were just exiting our own vehicle. “It’s good to see you. Welcome to the Hole.”
Cassie and I traded handshakes with the major. Zoe Valentine was a woman I met on the moon. Since the beginning, our relationship had always been one of violence and friendship. We’d fouled Aleron’s first attempt to escape together and bled side by side during the Battle of Mars.
She was a good woman, strong and dedicated to her calling as a soldier and mother. Her daughter was always a topic of conversation. It was obvious Zoe did everything she could to make sure her daughter had the best care.
I shook her hand warmly, nodding over to Laine. “Major, this is our friend Laine—”
I stopped, awkwardly realizing now we hadn’t come up with a last name for our new alien friend.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Laine said, extending her hand. “Thank you for being able to accommodate us.”
“You’re very welcome,” Major Valentine answered, accepting the handshake. “If you’ll follow me inside, we can get started. I’m sure you want to speak with Rival Mercer for the same reason I did. Hunting Aleron Jacobs.”
We walked with the major into the building where a pair of armed praetorians stood just inside magnetic locking doors. They monitored the exterior section of the entrance through a myriad of cameras.
We passed so many checkpoints, I wasn’t sure if I should be impressed or shocked, maybe both. There were physical pat downs, metal detectors, and even a scan of our bodies by some kind of x-ray machine.
I looked over at Laine, worried that an x-ray might show something of her alien anatomy. She retuned my look of concern with a shake of her head.
Getting Cassie through also proved problematic. It wasn’t like she could remove her metal forearms. Lucky for us, Major Valentine carried enough weight at the Hole to approve her through.
Finally, we were able to make it through the myriad of security checkpoints.
Next we followed Major Valentine through the wide halls of the Hole. This section, at least, although bleak, was open with vaulted ceiling and grey pillars that supported the roof.
“How did Aleron escape?” I asked Major Valentine. “This place is a fortress.”
“The official story is that he didn’t escape at all,” the major warned us. “If cell mates held any kind of hope whatsoever that escape was an option, we’d have more attempted breakouts. Officially, Aleron was killed in the escape attempt.”
“Unofficially?” Cassie asked.
“Unofficially, Aleron played nice here and the previous warden granted him a few hours of outside time,” Major Valentine explained. “It was during the Voy invasion when all but the most necessary staff were called away to Mars, Aleron had help from the outside one day. His men were able to distract and kill a pair of our praetorians dressing in their armor. They poised as if they were taking Aleron back to his cell from the yard then made a run for it. We gave chase, killing the men who helped him escape, but Aleron got away.”
“Of course he did,” I said under my breath. As much as I despised the man, I understood he was a survivor. It wouldn’t do me any good to let the hate I felt for him cloud my judgment. Aleron was a worthy opponent. I’d have to keep my guard up and refuse to discredit what he was capable of.
Major Zoe Valentine led us through yet another pair of clear magnetic doors with praetorians stationed on both the inside and outside. We followed her to a lift that descended five stories into the Earth. The steel container we rode in moved quickly and efficiently. A Pretorian guard in a sectioned-off glass booth controlled the lift.
He stared at me open-mouthed as we lowered into the ground.
“I
think you’re more of a celebrity than we even gave you credit for,” Major Valentine whispered in my ear. “I don’t think that corporal has closed his mouth since he saw you.”
“You should have seen the swarm of reporters outside Dragon Hold,” I told her. “It was like I was some kind of mythical animal they had all come to see.”
“Maybe you are.” Zoe winked. “It’s only going to get worse. The more the Galactic Government can shine the light on you and hide in the darkness, the more they’ll try. The GG doesn’t really like questions and the people love their heroes.”
“It’s not like I was the only one there,” I said with a deep breath. “How about you? Let’s shine some of that spotlight on you.”
“Already got my promotion.” Zoe smiled and shook her head. “I’m stationed here now, but more days off to see my daughter. She’s back on Mars now that the Voy threat has been dealt with.”
“You have a daughter?” Laine asked with a smile. “I have a little boy. How old is yours?”
Laine and the major went off talking about kids while I caught Cassie’s eyes. Her brow was furrowed deep in thought. Even in this light, despite the dire hour and the circumstances we found ourselves in, she was beautiful.
Are we dating? My mind wandered to the thought. I mean, I guess we did go on a date, so that qualifies us as officially dating. Is she my girlfriend, then? Does that come later? Do we have to have an official conversation that makes us boyfriend and girlfriend?
I didn’t realize I was staring at her until Cassie looked over at me lifting an eyebrow.
I looked away, blood rushing to my face.
Cassie’s lips twitched. She looked like she was about to say something, calling me out, when the lift came to a stop.
We stepped out on a floor with yet another gate and a long, wide two-story hall beyond.
“This is the high security section within the Hole,” Major Valentine explained. “Aleron was placed here with Rival Mercer until he showed good behavior. He was moved to a less strict cell then given outside privileges, and we all know how that ended.”
Nemesis: A Near Future Thriller (Forsaken Mercenary Book 6) Page 11