[The Legend of ZERO 01.0] Forging Zero

by Sara King

  “Put it down, Zero!” one of the Huouyt snapped, its mirror-like eyes staring back at him in calm disdain. “You are outgunned. I don’t care what Na’leen said. Fight us, and you won’t get out of here alive.”

  Joe glanced back at Rat, who had another plasma pistol in her hands. A group of four terrified recruits were huddled behind her, eying the Huouyt in terror. Like Joe, all of them were naked, their bodies bared to the dozen guns aimed on them.

  Sometimes you’ve gotta stand up for yourself, even when you know you ain’t got a chance.

  He spun and slammed his knife into a startled Huouyt’s throat. As his opponent fell, something carried him onward, a culmination of every bit of anguish, every bit of rage, every bit of terror he had endured in the past months. He leapt over the body and dove into the startled throng of defenders. Something deep within was powering him, now, pushing him, electrifying his limbs as he sliced through his opponents with a detached grace. More Huouyt rushed into the room and grappled him, but they couldn’t find a secure hold and their bee-stings didn’t work on him.

  “He’s had the antidote too soon!” one of them cried. Joe rammed his knife into the speaker’s slit of a mouth, then pulled the blade up and through the brain. The room echoed with plasma fire and Huouyt screams. Behind him, he heard the shee-whomp of a Jreet. Earlier, in the tunnels, the very sound had been enough to push a sheet of adrenaline through his body. Now, it only gave Joe another target.

  Sometimes you’ve gotta stand up for yourself, even when you know you ain’t got a chance.

  Now he knew what his Dad had meant.

  The Jreet was huge, almost forty feet, one of Na’leen’s personal guard. It circled Joe, sliding through the bodies of the Huouyt, hesitating to use its poison.

  It still thinks I’m going to help them, Joe realized.

  “Joe, get out of the way!” Rat cried, from behind him. “I can’t get a clear shot!”

  But something had taken a grip on his soul, and Joe walked forward, so that he was almost touching the point of the fang jutting from the Jreet’s chest. It hovered above his forehead, its dark tip glistening red in the hazy light. It would have only taken a twitch on the Jreet’s part to end Joe’s life right there. Yet, as massive and ancient as the warrior before him was, it did not strike. Looking past it, Joe saw the indecision in the Jreet’s tiny golden eyes. And, in that moment of clarity, Joe understood.

  Kill me and I won’t fulfill the prophecy, he thought, looking up into its face. And you don’t want to fail. He could understand its dilemma, and respected it on a deep inner level.

  Joe lifted his knife and the Jreet slid backwards, away from him. It dropped the tip of its translucent spear between them, keeping him at a wary distance.

  “You’re going to have to kill me.” The words Joe spoke were neither Congie nor English. He wasn’t sure how he knew them, but he did. “My blood or yours, brother.”

  The Jreet gave him a startled look, the tip of its spear wavering minutely.

  Joe stepped forward, until his chest was touching the spear. He felt the tip sink into his chest, up and to the right of Libby’s scar, before the Jreet started to pull back, preventing him from impaling himself. Warm blood began to slide down his skin as he moved forward, dripping onto the ground between them. Joe’s eyes never left the Jreet’s.

  The Jreet tentatively lowered its spear.

  Joe jammed his knife into the vital area in the Jreet’s throat, above the poisoned fang. The fang twitched once, stopping only a hairsbreadth away from Joe’s skin before it retracted. Dropping its spear, the massive Jreet slid into a corner and collapsed.

  With no more enemies to fight, Joe’s fury drew him back to Zol’jib’s corpse. The Huouyt who had taken Lagrah’s form. Na’leen’s assassin, who had poisoned him so Libby thought he had betrayed her. The same Huouyt who had pretended to be Yuil, to make him betray his friends. Joe buried his knife into the corpse, dismantling the body bit by bit, stabbing the hated blue-white eyes out.

  “He’s dead, Zero.”

  Tril’s voice cut through the haze. Joe glanced up. The Overseer was watching him from the wall, along with the rest of the Ooreiki survivors. The other kids in the room were staring at him in open fear. Rat looked startled, her lips parted, the plasma gun half-hanging from her limp hand. Joe realized he was covered in sticky Huouyt blood, the transparent slime glistening upon his body from head to toe.

  Joe’s eyes found Maggie. She was standing beside Libby’s corpse, her usually adoring gaze containing something Joe had never seen before. He got goosebumps.

  “So it was all a trick?” Rat demanded. “That thing with Libby and the Trith…it was a trick?”

  Maggie’s eyes never left him and Joe realized that she had come to the exact opposite conclusion.

  “Very clever.” Tril twisted on the wall. “Where’d you learn Voran Jreet, Zero? It’s a very rare dialect.”

  Joe dropped his knife and stood[SK1], suddenly feeling every spatter of alien blood as if it were acid. He stared at his palms. “I didn’t.”

  Tril frowned at him a moment, then said, “I knew you Humans had a talent for languages. You’ve done the work of a fully-trained Planetary Ops squad. Congress will reward you well. Now hurry and release us. This structure is rigged as an Overseer’s bunker. There should be a command center nearby where I can call for help.”

  Joe ignored the Ooreiki and stood[SK2]. “Come here, Mag.” He held out his gore-encrusted arms.

  Maggie ignored his gesture, her eyes locked on his face. “You’re a traitor. That’s why you didn’t help Libby.”

  Joe’s arms dropped. “Mag, I couldn’t—”

  “Now, Zero!” Commander Tril snapped. “Do you want Na’leen to return with more of his Jreet? The same trick will not work more than once.”

  Joe hesitated. He could see Maggie needed him to deny it, to assure her there was nothing he could have done to save their friend. But there would be time later to explain and unless he wanted Maggie to die, too, his comforting words would have to wait. He moved to help Tril, ignoring Maggie’s searing look.

  “Mag, help me here,” Joe said, hefting Tril’s weight. “Unhook his arms.”

  Maggie sat down beside Libby and began stroking her arm, humming.

  “Bailey,” Joe snapped. “Help me.”

  The boy jerked. He tore his eyes from Libby’s body and hurried to help slide the hooks from Tril’s tentacles. Once Tril was on his feet, he hurried from the room, leaving them the option of following or staying behind for the Jreet. Rat turned to follow. Joe glanced at the other Ooreiki hanging from the wall. They would be useless in a fight, but he couldn’t leave them behind.

  “Bailey, help me get the others.” When Bailey hesitated, looking like he wanted to follow Rat, instead, Joe screamed, “Now! Or I swear to God I’ll gut you for what you did to Libby!”

  Bailey flinched and his eye went wide. “Joe, I never cut out Libby’s tongue. I never broke her legs, neither. The Takki did that.”

  Joe frowned. “The Takki?”

  “Yeah. Six of them were walking across the yard and Libby insulted them. Right out of the blue. Like she wanted to pick a fight with them. When that didn’t work, she started insulting Knaaren. That made them attack her. She fought them off as best she could—killed a couple, I think. I started throwing rocks at them, shouting for Rat. That scared them off. But by that time, Libby was hurt real bad. One of ‘em had got hold of her tongue and cut it out, sayin’ she didn’t deserve it.”

  Joe stared at Bailey, uncomprehending. He remembered the crowbar-shaped stick that had lain in the dust beside Libby and the connection jolted him. “Takki did it?”

  “Yeah. I thought she told you.”

  Of course she didn’t. Beaten by Takki. God, Libby, I’m sorry. Joe felt a tired rush of despair.

  “Yeah. I would’ve helped her sooner, but she—”

  “Just help me,” he said, drained to the core. “You can tell me the rest lat
er.” Brushing past Maggie, they released the other six Ooreiki. They beamed and congratulated him, increasing Joe’s discomfort. He wasn’t the hero. Libby was. If she hadn’t thrown the knife and made them give him the antidote to whatever Zol’jib gave him in order to keep him from bleeding out, he couldn’t have activated the grenade.

  Then a cold chill settled in the marrow of his spine. What if the Trith knew that? What if that’s why the Trith had told Libby she’d have to kill him? To make her do it? To make her trade her life for his?

  “Here, Zero.” Bailey shoved a gun into Joe’s lifeless arms. “We’ve gotta go. The Huouyt are coming back. Rat’s waiting for us in the hall.”

  Joe stared at Bailey dumbly.

  “Let’s go, Zero!”

  Numb, Joe followed the Ooreiki survivors out into the hall.

  Libby died because of me. Because of that Trith. He felt the beginnings of hatred burning his intestines.

  Maggie ignored Bailey’s order to follow them and he had to bodily pull her away from Libby’s corpse. Joe watched in solemn silence as she fought, screaming.

  Finally, Bailey rounded on her. He dragged her close and into her face he shouted, “Libby’s dead. You wanna die too?!”

  Maggie ignored Bailey, her eyes locked with Joe’s. “Why didn’t you help her, Joe?”

  “I couldn’t, Mag,” Joe whispered. “I wanted to.”

  “But you didn’t,” Maggie bit out. “It’s your fault she’s dead.” She pronounced it with all the finality of a jury’s verdict.

  “I know, Mag.”

  “Hey.” Bailey drove a finger into Maggie’s shoulder. “He’s a hero. He killed a Jreet by himself with just a knife. I didn’t see you do anything to save Libby. You’re just a whining little coward, you know that?”

  Maggie’s chest shuddered in a sob. Whimpering, Maggie spun and fled down the opposite corridor.

  “Maggie!” Joe cried.

  The plasma shot took Maggie in the neck and chest, knocking her off of her feet. Two massive Jreet rounded the corner beside her, their shee-whomp battle cry ringing down the corridor. Seeing Joe and Bailey, they cloaked. Joe could hear the rapid scraping of their bodies on the floor as they slithered toward them. Behind the Jreet came a dozen armed Huouyt, their powerful tentacle legs working awkwardly against the floor as they ran.

  Joe’s eyes fixed on Maggie’s body, his breath burning in his lungs. He felt the beginnings of a sob in his chest.

  I can’t fight it. The Trith was right. I fought it again and Maggie died for it.

  “Get out of here, Bailey.” Joe lifted his rifle, aiming at the nearest Huouyt. He didn’t have anybody left to lose but himself.

  “Joe, come here.” Bailey threw an arm around Joe’s throat and dragged him backwards down the hall. Joe tried to struggle free, but Bailey had put on his biosuit—it was like fighting a statue. Cursing, Bailey threw him into a control room filled with maimed Ooreiki and followed him inside, blocking his escape.

  As soon as they were in, Rat touched the control panel near the entrance and the door oozed shut. Joe stared at it, wondering why he wasn’t on the other side, fighting.

  “Is he here?” Tril demanded.

  “Here, sir.” Gokli shoved Joe in the Overseer’s direction.

  “Zero, you were given the Overseer’s stimulant drugs, right?”

  Joe frowned.

  “And Nebil illegally taught you to read?” Tril demanded.

  …Taught me to read? Joe nodded, frowning, still unable to understand why he wasn’t fighting.

  “Get over here,” Tril ordered. “I need you to hit some buttons for me. We’ve got to seal off this section of the compound before Na’leen can get to the main control hub and fire an ekhta at Koliinaat.”

  Joe stared at the glowing, multi-layered, three-dimensional map of the bunker hovering over the central table. Na’leen and his companions were bright red dots moving down the staircase closest to them. Gokli, Tril, and all the other Ooreiki were standing beside the map, waiting for him, their tentacles reduced to short, useless stubs.

  Seeing what they expected him to do, Joe hesitated.

  Maggie was dead. Libby was dead. Scott was dead. Nebil and Lagrah were dead. What if the Trith was right?

  What if more would die if he fought Fate?

  And what if they had all died because the Trith wanted them to die? What if the Trith fed them lies to make them act the way they wanted them to act? To produce a desired result?

  But then, something about the Trith’s eerie stare left him with the undeniable impression that a Trith’s prophecy was more than smoke and mirrors.

  So what do I do?

  Joe noticed for the first time the other recruits watching him. He knew Na’leen wouldn’t make the mistake of letting Rat and the others live a second time.

  Fate decided you will shatter Congress, Joe.

  “Burn fate.” Joe walked up to the map and, acting as Tril’s hands, attempted to close off Representative Na’leen’s route. Each time they had the Representative and his staff trapped in a section of the bunker, Na’leen somehow found a way to continue, working his way deeper into the ferlii with each passing minute, growing closer to the core and the ekhta inside.

  “He outranks me,” Tril cried, frustrated. “He’s overriding my commands.”

  “Let me try,” Gokli said. “Zero, start activating these.” He pointed a truncated tentacle at the purple self-destruct buttons littering the map.

  Tril pushed Joe’s hand away from the screen, glaring at Gokli. “This building is rigged to explode in an emergency. He could set off a chain reaction and kill us all.”

  Gokli gave Tril a level glance. “So?”

  Sudah fluttering, Tril took a deep breath and nodded. “Try collapsing the tunnels around him. Just don’t hit one that’s too close to the rest.

  “He’ll realize what we’re doing as soon as we start,” Gokli said. “We’ve gotta work fast or he’ll start avoiding those halls.”

  “Fast but careful,” Tril added.

  Joe felt sweat beading over his face as he worked, his entire focus narrowing to the little red dots that were Na’leen and his companions. You aren’t getting away. The ferlii rocked with successive explosions each time he touched the screen, making everyone in the room tense, eyes fixed to the shuddering black walls.

  Joe barely noticed, so intense was his concentration. For all my friends, for everything you’ve done and everyone who’s died. I’m gonna stop you.

  With Gokli’s help, Joe cornered Na’leen in a section of the ferlii that had no exits to override, no staircases to climb, no means of escape other than the hallway that Joe had collapsed behind them. Joe stepped away from the controls and Tril opened up a communications link between himself and the Tribunal member. Representative Na’leen’s electric eyes were sizzling as he appeared on the screen.

  “Looks like you killed the wrong one, Na’leen,” Tril jeered. “Idiot.”

  Joe watched the Huouyt’s eyes focus on him over Tril’s shoulder. “Appears I did. How irritating.”

  “’Irritating’ is hardly the word to describe your situation, Na’leen. Peacemakers are going to make you sing for turns on Levren for your crimes.”

  Na’leen was still looking at Joe. “My secrets die with me, Tril.”

  “Overseer to you, prisoner.” Tril snorted. “And to think that Huouyt are known for their ability to spot a lie. You were looking right at Zero when he told you about his visitation from a Trith.”

  “Was I?” Na’leen eyed Joe calmly. “How odd. I was also under the impression Huouyt could detect a mistruth.”

  The tiny hairs on the back of Joe’s neck stood on end before he crushed the reaction. No. The Trith is wrong. I’m not one of them. They killed my friends. They killed Libby and Scott and Maggie. I’m a Congie. I’ll never fight for them.

  Holding Na’leen’s gaze, Joe said, “I’m loyal to Congress. I swear it.” I swear it for Libby. And Scott. And Maggie. I’ll
never let my groundmates down again. Never.

  Na’leen’s electric-white eyes blinked in surprise. “You’re telling the truth.”

  Tril laughed, the toadlike croaking of an Ooreiki. “A myth, then, just like your Regency seat will be. Congress won’t let a Huouyt near the Tribunal for a million years.”

  “Congress won’t last another million years,” Na’leen said, his eyes still fixed on Joe. Joe turned away, ignoring him. From the screen behind him, Na’leen let out a long breath that sounded like the tinkling of wind chimes. “I was so sure this was the time.”

  “They all think that,” Tril said. “Congress can’t be beaten, Na’leen. Of all your time on the Tribunal, you should’ve known we would crush you.”

  It’s not unbeatable, Joe thought, turning back to glare at Tril. All I’d have to do is finish what the Jreet started, you stupid prick.

  Apparently, Na’leen was thinking the same thing. “Somehow I doubt the accuracy of your statement. Congress came within a hairsbreadth of falling apart this day. You can thank your recruit that it still stands, though I wonder for how long.” Representative Na’leen made a formal flourish to Joe with his paddle-like arms. “I wish you luck in the future, Joe Dobbs. In all of your endeavors.”

  Then, as they watched, he took a cylindrical capsule from beneath the golden folds of his cloak and held it up. Joe could have sworn the Huouyt was looking at him as he inhaled the hissing vapors. Na’leen collapsed, leaving the video feed blank.

  Joe felt a rush of relief, staring at the body. I beat it. I beat the prophecy.

  “Damn,” Tril said. “The Peacemakers would have sold their oorei to have him alive on Levren.” He slapped his severed tentacle against the screen, cutting off the feed. “Get out of here, Zero. Find us some weapons. And get yourself some clothes—Bagkhal will be here soon. Take some off the dead recruits if you can’t find your biosuit. And for the sake of all that is colorful, clean yourself up. I don’t want you looking like incompetent Takki when they come get us.”

  Narrowing his eyes, Joe went to do as he was bid.

  CHAPTER 40: Loyalties