“You’re not as tall as me,” Valentin said as they considered logistics. “But you are as muscular. For that reason alone, you will stand out, even with your face hidden. If word got back to the hybrids …”
“I get it. Look, I’ve been doing a lot of ‘standing out’ the past three years. At least you didn’t play the proto-African card. OK. How do we pull this off?”
“We’ll drop you outside the city and guide you to a location where you’re needed. Once the attack begins, no one will think twice about your identity. I’ll take care of matters in JaRa. I know where to assign those six. And I trust Col. Joosten.” They pivoted to the pilot, who watched Michael’s transition in silence, focusing his attention on intracity communications.
“But I must say,” Valentin continued, “there is one aspect of this which continues to bother me.”
“Which is?”
“How you arrived. This Anchor you described is troubling.”
“It should be. As long as they have the right quantum signature, they can show up anywhere. No warning.”
Valentin sighed as he walked to the open bulkhead.
“In theory, the entire attack fleet could materialize directly above the city. Yes?”
“More than theory, Valentin. The shit works.”
“You’re living proof. But they can’t land on top of us unless they know our exact coordinates. Correct?”
Michael’s own journey validated the point. He tracked where Valentin was headed.
“They’ll have to scout the planet first,” Michael said.
“If we detect the scout ship, we’ll know they’re coming.”
“Better yet, if you can knock out the scout ship before it reports back, the folks on the other side of the jumpgate won’t know if we took them out, or if their ship was lost in the jump. Either way, we slow them down.”
Valentin double-tapped his amp. “Admiral Kane, sit-rep. News from our patrols?”
“All quiet, Admiral. No incursions.”
“Good. I might have new orders for you soon. Continue as you are. Valentin out.”
The six young soldiers reported for duty, lined up at the open door, awaiting orders.
“Still-seats,” Valentin said. “You look fit. Everyone.”
One of the soldiers, Rikhi Syed, offered Michael a suspicious eye. Rikhi awoke first to hear Michael’s mea culpa. The others ignored him and followed orders. During this brief interlude, Michael made greater sense of Valentin’s concerns. Why didn’t he realize the obvious weak link in their plan?
A new strategy emerged. “Valentin, you need somebody up there with Guard command experience. Somebody to anticipate their next move and have the best chance to disable or destroy their ships. Got anybody like that patrolling the system now?”
“No,” Valentin said. “But the Guard is not equipped for interstellar combat. Never has been.”
“Exactly. Which means there ain’t a lot of pages in their playbook.”
“What are you suggesting?”
When Michael dropped Aldo Cabrise’s name, the reaction was quick and forceful.
“What? You brought a fleet admiral to Aeterna?” Valentin surged toward Michael, his fists balled. “The enemy is here now?”
“Look. Chill. Aldo was an admiral, but he’s not fighting for either side. He has a longstanding beef with the Admiralty, and he wanted to come back here for personal reasons. He committed treason to do so.”
“What do you mean ‘back’? Wait. Now I know this name. He was Admiral of the Tamarind fleet. He dropped slews on my brother’s team last year. We lost two immortals and almost James.”
Ouch. Somehow, that tidbit never came up in conversation with Aldo. Michael scrambled.
“He resigned his post to be a flunky in Ericsson Station. He thought it gave him the best chance to return here. Aldo was fleet admiral the last time this planet went to hell. The Admiralty shut him up about what happened. He wanted to return so he could prove them wrong. He’s no threat to you, but he can be an ally.”
All of which Michael believed was true, but he also needed a reason to get Aldo off the planet – or at least outside the towers – before the Jewels took their revenge.
“Where is he now?”
“I left him two K north beside the river. If he’s on foot again, he’ll be closer. Valentin, we need every advantage. Yes?”
Valentin turned to Col. Joosten. “Scan north and take us there.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Why is it,” Valentin told Michael, “I feel compelled to trust you?”
“I’m guessing same reason you trust Sam, but it ain’t because we’re good looking. We’re playing by different rules now, and the folks who made those rules? Out of our league.”
“And if it’s all a game to these Jewels?”
He shrugged. “Then we’re dead. I reckon anything else is a goddamn victory.”
“Is Cabrise armed?”
“Does it matter? Not like he’s gonna be able to make a dent.” Michael pivoted to the young soldiers. “For the sake of argument, helmets for everybody?”
The Scramjet landed, and the bulkhead pixelated clear. Michael wasn’t surprised when he saw Aldo on the run. He remembered his amp. Dumbass. Why didn’t you warn him?
He leaped from the ship. “Aldo! Aldo! It’s Michael. Slow the fuck down, will you?”
The old man limped as he ran, his quad still bothering him. He swung around after Michael’s third request. Aldo cocked his laser pistol hip-high.
“Dude. Seriously. I need you to settle.”
Aldo’s terrified eyes scanned Michael up and down.
“New threads,” Michael said. “Cool, huh?”
“You cudfrucker. How can you be … Did you go to their side?”
Michael grabbed the pistol. “A. Yes. I’m on their side. Sort of. B. If you plan to see another sunrise, you’ll do the same. Aldo, I don’t have time to explain all this shit again. When I left you behind, you said it was my mission. Yeah? Well, I’m calling the shots now, and I need your help. I need Admiral Cabrise back in the saddle.”
Aldo responded with a dead-eyed glare suggesting Michael grew additional appendages.
“Cooper, I don’t know what happened to you last night, but you have clearly parted ways with reality.”
“Yep. Three years ago, more or less. Aldo, we’ve come too far. Trust me. Oh, and just so you know: You’re probably gonna freak out when you see who’s onboard. Word to the wise: Don’t. Things are already kind of delicate. I killed a few of them earlier.”
64
T HE NEXT FEW MINUTES WERE NOT pleasant, as Michael anticipated. Aldo wasn’t fond of meeting the military leader of a group which killed more than two million Chancellors. Understandable. Learning about the fate of Ericsson Station did not ingratiate him to the child soldiers, who seemed equally disdainful. Michael short-changed a million years of history to layout the stakes, an argument which proved flimsy when Aldo said everyone in the settlement deserved what was coming to them. Valentin reached for his weapon twice. Col. Joosten, piloting the Scramjet on a southeast trajectory, brandished a pistol as backup.
Michael brought the tension to a head.
“Yo,” he said. “Everybody. Shut. The. Fuck. Up. Especially you, Aldo. Hey, Joosten, how long to the drop?”
Col. Joosten waited for permission from Valentin.
“Four minutes, fifty seconds.”
“Thanks.” Michael pushed Aldo against the bulkhead. “That’s about how long you got to live. If you don’t agree to this plan, they’re gonna kill you because otherwise, you’re a security risk. If a scout ship drops in close to the planet, you could tell them where you are.” He tapped Aldo’s temple above the stream amp. “And if these dudes don’t waste you, the Jewels will because you’re a Chancellor, and they won’t care if you didn’t have a hand in creating the Berserkers. Aldo, this is gonna be a fucking turkey shoot. I want you safe, and we need your help. It’s a fair bargain. Best I
can manage on the fly, anyway.”
Michael stepped back and waited for a response. He understood Aldo’s resentment. In the old man’s place, Michael might respond no differently. Aldo spoke up.
“Can you guarantee the Berserkers will be fried?”
“I’ll do James myself. If we fight the hybrids, the Jewels will see what side we chose. They’ll dust those motherfuckers. But these kids,” he pointed to the soldiers in still-seats, “deserve a chance. Sam and I, we’re like them. I promise, if we win this, Salvation will never pose a threat to the Chancellory again.” He caught Valentin’s raised eyebrow but continued undaunted. “Better yet, you’ll stick it to the Admiralty. You’ll have the last damn word about Hiebimini. Sorry. Aeterna. New name, apparently.”
Aldo chuckled. “They’ll have the last word at my execution.”
“No. It’ll never go there. Aldo, I’ll have your back when it’s over if you’ll have ours today.”
After a quiet moment, Aldo said, “Two conditions. One, when I give an order, I expect their navigator to follow it. Two, after I leave this ship, I never see Valentin Bouchet again.”
Michael pivoted for Valentin’s response. The younger brother found the conditions amusing but consented with a caveat.
“I want you patched into Admiral Kane at all times,” he told Aldo. “Live feed. If you exceed your bounds, he’ll shut you down.”
“And your navigator will probably shoot me. Fair enough.”
Michael backed off. “And, drumroll please. We have a deal! Pretty sure I’m not gonna ask you to shake on this.”
Valentin turned his back and consulted with Joosten. They threw open holocubes and discussed logistics as Joosten brought the Scramjet in for a landing. Aldo whispered to Michael.
“Those children are very small.”
“Yeah, covered that ground already. But they’re devoted and trained, and this armor? Guard flash pegs won’t make a dent.”
“Michael, standing with these terrorists means no way back.”
He shrugged. “I left Earth on a one-way street. It ends here.”
The Scramjet did not land, but the bulkhead pixelated. The ship was hovering at the edge of the river, above muddy soil.
“The drop,” Valentin said. “Wait for Cabrise’s ship then follow the guide. You’re five hundred meters from the eastern edge of JaRa.”
Michael added a wrinkle. He pointed to the rifter he rode onboard earlier. “If you don’t mind, I think she might come in handy. Smooth, quiet ride, if you get my speed.”
Valentin assented. Michael rode it out the cargo hold with Aldo holding on from behind. The Scramjet curled south then west to the city’s industrial sector. Michael steered them into the tall reeds and found solid ground. They hopped off and waited. Michael retracted his helmet and took in the scenery.
“Sorry you won’t have a chance to see their city, Aldo. Valentin showed me the layout. It’s fucking crazy. He says the Jewels grew it out of the planet. It was waiting when they arrived here. You believe that shit?”
“Eh. Why not? It’s no less improbable than anything else I’ve seen.”
Michael took out his pipe. “A serious question, Aldo. What would you think about staying here afterward?”
Aldo coughed at Michael’s ensuing cloud of poltash smoke.
“That is not a serious question.”
“Sure, it is. You said your first love was exobiology. Can you think of a better planet to study? You’ll have first dibs.”
“I thought you said these Jewels would kill someone like me?”
“A technicality. We can sort out the details, I’m sure.”
Aldo leaned against the rifter and rubbed his quad. Michael enjoyed what he assumed to be his last smoke before battle. However, he choked on a puff when he heard the reeds rustling in an unnatural way. He tapped off his pipe, grabbed a blast rifle and told Aldo to get down. He swung about, looking for a target. The rustling seemed to come from every direction, though the breeze was nonexistent.
“The hell?”
One target approached. Man or woman, Michael couldn’t tell. A gray cloak shadowed the visitor. Michael took an aggressive stand and aimed.
“Halt right there, or I put you down.”
The stranger stopped, appeared to look in either direction, which Michael thought was a prelude to the asshole opening fire. Instead, he heard something mind-boggling.
“Hello, Michael. I’m pleased you came so far. You’re the last one.”
“Wait, what? Drop the hood and show me your hands.”
The bedraggled features and knotted gray hair made Aldo Cabrise seem young and sprightly.
“I thought of waiting for you at the edge of the city,” the stranger said. “But they insisted I would be of more use here.” He turned to Aldo. “They were right. They’re always right.” He dropped his arms and continued forward.
“Do you know this man?” Aldo asked Michael.
“Not as well as you, Admiral Aldo Cabrise.”
Aldo took two steps closer, eyeing the stranger with incredulity. The man in gray pivoted to Michael.
“He’ll figure it out soon. In the meantime, Michael, it appears you’ve done an outstanding job of following the signs. One test remains, but you and Samantha have created a great opportunity.”
Michael gasped. “Fuck. It’s you. Valentin said Sam was visited by some kind of agent. Are you working for the Jewels?”
“One does not work for the Jewels. One simply abides. I was tasked, at the end of my miserable life, to make contact with the three-winged beast of an impossible future. You are the last.
“You have one more test, Michael. If the algorithm is correct, you will succeed if you understand key principles. Grief blinds more than rage. Rage burns away reason. Reason lives inside discipline. The disciplined man binds grief and rage inside reason. Yes?”
Michael wasn’t expecting a dollar-store philosopher.
“Sure. Absolutely, old man. And your name is?”
Aldo spit. “You cudfrucker. Trayem Hadeed. How?”
“Wait a minute,” Michael said. “You know this dude?”
“Trayem Hadeed is a war criminal. He’s responsible for the deaths of two and a half million Hiebim. Nine years of a war he started. I beat him at the Battle of Messalina. Dropped a barrage of slews from my Carrier. Wiped out ninety-five percent of his forces, but not this bastard. He was on trial when it happened. The Fall of Hiebimini.
“In all the confusion, he got away. We assumed he died somewhere in the desert. How? How did you do it?”
Hadeed licked his lips. “That’s not the story you want to hear, Admiral. And it’s not why I’m here. This is what you want to hear:
“I am going to die today. And good riddance to me. Yes? I’ve wanted it for years. I deserve it, of course. Every kind of pain you wish upon me, I have already suffered. And I won’t be the only monster to leave this beautiful new world. They hoped you would fulfill your dream to return here, Admiral. Allow my miserable death to provide you some measure of comfort.”
“No. You have to pay for your crimes, Hadeed. The right way.”
Hadeed seemed amused. “My home world disappeared thirty-eight years ago. It was replaced, and I was sentenced to watch. Trust me, I have paid the right way. Good luck to you both.”
The man threw on his hood and swung about face. Aldo stepped forward to grab him, but Michael intervened. He felt it in his soul: Hadeed had to fulfill his purpose without interference.
The algorithm. Always the algorithm.
As Hadeed disappeared through the reeds, Michael said:
“All this shit we’ve seen and done? What he did? Aldo, this is fucking judgment day. Forget about laws and trials. It’s time to put on our big-boy pants and walk into the damn fire. We’re dancing with gods, and they’re trying to teach us the steps, so we won’t fuck it up.”
Aldo pushed Michael away. “Cooper, do you ever listen to what comes out of that hole on your face?”
Michael stifled a laugh. “Yeah, I’m not big on filters.”
“I’m not sure if you’re the most original or most insufferable …”
Michael tapped his amp when a signal arrived and opened a cube.
“Cooper,” Valentin said.
“Here,” Michael replied. “Tell Sam the good news?”
“Working on it. We have a complication. What’s your status?”
“Holding pattern.”
“And the other one?”
Michael laughed. “Still grumbling, but he’ll do what we need.”
“Good. I sent the data. Anticipate rendezvous. Be careful. I have a feeling we won’t be in control much longer. Valentin out.”
Michael closed the cube and took a breath. He remembered Trayem Hadeed’s words about reason and discipline.
“A ‘complication.’ Huh. I’m sure it’s being handled.”
“I’m sure, Michael.”
They said nothing until a white flash followed by thunder signaled the arrival of a Scramjet via wormhole. It hovered twenty feet in front of them. The door pixelated. No one was waiting.
“Look, Aldo. Be good. All right? We need your expertise.”
“I’ll play my part, Michael. If we don’t see each other again …”
“Yeah, yeah. I know. It’s been a helluva ride.”
“Not what I was going to say, Michael, but it’s usually more interesting when you have the last word.”
Michael didn’t add a thing as Aldo limped to the ship and hopped onboard. The door regenerated before he turned to wave. The Scramjet vanished in another violent blast seconds later.
Michael jumped on the rifter and flexed his hands before gripping the steering arms. He transferred his target coordinates into the guidance web and talked to the rifter:
“Here we go, new friend. End of the road.”
PART FIVE
REQUIEM
Though many people believe the Systems Treaty of SY 5360 laid the foundation for half a century of interplanetary war, there are others who say the controversial agreement saved billions of lives and propped up economies that collapsed in the wake of the Collectorate’s fall. Aeterna’s role in supporting this treaty cannot be understated. We must never forget: Without the aggressive action and wise counsel of my grandfather, who became an immensely popular figure, a threat far more catastrophic than the Chancellory would have targeted all the worlds of the former Collectorate. We live in relative peace and prosperity today because of the seeds he planted.
The Impossible Future: Complete set Page 144