“To Saturn?” I asked.
“To Saturn.”
We were done here.
The invasion was over.
We’d survived.
The Defenders were in pieces, and we’d lost Lotus’ Racer in the skirmish, but all things considered, we’d been extremely lucky today.
Jade’s voice called out, and I peered over my shoulder to see her stressing over the comms.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Holland. I can’t find his Pod,” she said. “He’s gone.”
Twenty-Four
Riding all the way to the Saturn station was a slow-moving process. The fleet lacked the Racers’ speed, and Varn and I led the charge, using half thrusters the entire trip. The crew felt small without R11 and Holland on board, but I couldn’t dwell on that.
Jade watched every video feed we could find, finding no explanation for what had happened with the kid. One minute, his Pod was there; the next, it was blocked out of sight by a passing freighter. Then it had vanished entirely.
We’d arrived at Saturn without issue, and I left the radar mods on, in hopes they would alert us of any enemy drones watching our movements. Nothing had shown up since the gateway’s destruction.
The meeting was scheduled for now, but I was behind after sleeping in. Apparently, I’d needed it after the last hectic week.
Jade knocked on the door of my suite, the same room I’d occupied a few days prior. It felt like months had passed since then.
She’d ditched the SeaTech-branded jumpsuit, and had on a pair of pants and a long-sleeved shirt. “I think these should fit.” She shoved a stack of clothing at me, and I unzipped my jumpsuit, tossing it in the corner.
She looked away while I jumped into the pants. “Jade, do you think they’re going to tell us the truth?”
“I doubt it.”
“I can’t believe we lost Holland.” I buttoned my shirt and headed for the door.
“Neither can I,” she said.
“Any luck getting a robot to boot R11 into?” I asked as we strode through the halls. We were five minutes late already.
“Octavia’s having one sent to Pilgrim as we speak. I’ll begin the process after the meeting,” she informed me.
“We can count that as a victory.” We took the elevator and shoved in beside five Board staff. They each looked at their PersaTabs, responding to various messages.
The meeting was happening on the top floor, and burly guards stood in front of the entrance. We gave them our names, and they permitted us entrance but didn’t drop the scowls.
“…the evidence is there. They will return!” the Espace CEO said. She stood up, with the others watching her.
“Clari, we don’t have enough information at present,” Octavia said.
I spotted Luther sitting with Varn Wallish, and walked over. They’d saved us two seats. Varn still had on his Sage uniform, and he gave a brisk nod as we sat.
Octavia and her sister Ellie paused what they were saying, staring at us. I lifted a hand in apology, and they continued.
“I beg to differ, Lead Chair,” Under said. “Think of it as a corporate takeover. The Velibar want what we have. They want the top spot. They’ve experienced a hiccup in obtaining their goal, but does that mean they’ll give up? No. They’ll change tactics. It’s been done a thousand times by each of us.”
“But this isn’t the same, Frank. These are aliens,” Eclipse said.
“It’s all the same. They will return, as Clari suggested. The question is when.” Frank’s hands clasped in front of his chest.
“More importantly, how do we stop them?” the Luna Corp CEO asked. He was a thickset man, middle-aged with a trendy haircut that made his face look too small.
I didn’t know why we were even involved in this discussion. The room was filled with the Board Chairs and CEOs. Having Varn and his team here with mine felt odd.
“We need to go after them. Take this on the offensive,” Bryson said. His clothing was ruffled, his cheeks dark with a couple of days’ facial hair.
“You know we can’t do that,” Octavia said.
“You heard what he said. Preston Lewis. Did you know I fought with Catarina tooth and nail over her accepting that posting? It was never advertised, and she used an alias on board because it wasn’t right for a CEO’s wife to be leaving on a five-year mission to Proxima. I couldn’t talk her out of it. All she ever wanted was to see the stars. She left us at home, and when she didn’t…” Bryson caught himself. “I don’t know about you all, but I won’t sit here waiting. I have to find her. And if Holland made it through the gate before it was destroyed…he could be alive too.”
I understood what he was saying, but what hope did Bryson have against an angry fleet of Velibar?
“Bryson, hear us out before you do anything rash. We could use your mind to assist this defense. Now isn’t the time to break apart. We need to become stronger than ever,” Octavia told him.
Under pointed a finger at me. “Can we trust him?”
“Arlo?” she asked.
“You heard that old man, beckoning him like no time had passed. I always knew there was something off about this one.” Under crossed his arms, his lips sealed dramatically.
“I thought he was dead like the rest of you. Besides, without me, things would have ended a lot differently,” I said defensively. “Speaking of which, we did win Space Race. I want you to give SeaTech what’s owed them.”
“Proxima? You heard Preston. The Velibar own it,” Under grunted.
“I don’t care. You promised it. It’s in the contracts. We won. When we kick the Velibar out of there and send them home reeling, it's Bryson’s.” I wasn’t going to back down on this, even if we never set foot on the planet. I’d had enough of these people.
“Done.” Octavia locked gazes with Bryson, and he gave her a solitary nod. “Now, we need to plan a war. Any ideas?” She stared at me, and I shrugged. It didn’t stop her from pressing. “Arlo? You were the only one who seemed to take charge of the situation. We have to admit we weren’t prepared for an event like this. Our military fleet is a joke. All our ships are privately owned, with no tactical training whatsoever. This has to change. As of today, there are no more ranks.”
The room erupted in a cacophony of shouting from the CEOs. Octavia smiled at her sister but continued to stand at the head of the table.
“If you’ve had enough,” she said calmly once the noise leveled off, “there’s more at stake than your Corporations. Ellie’s had the right idea for decades. The format isn’t working. Several hundred years ago, things were dire on Earth. The entire planet was a tinderbox, ready to explode, and our predecessors decided we needed to attempt a different structure. It was intended to have a positive outcome for the people of Earth, only it became something entirely different. A competition for resources and power.
“This is a pivotal time for Earth. We will stand together. Pool the resources and create a defense that not even the Velibar will be able to contend with. And there cannot be a delay. We have no idea what they’re capable of. Does anyone object?”
I glanced from CEO to CEO, recognizing the acceptance on their faces. Their time was finished, but each of them would likely struggle to hang on to their place of authority during this war. Some would assume this was a temporary restriction; others might expect the Earth to lose out to the Velibar, and I was somewhere in the middle. Erik Trevors glanced at Jade and gave his niece a small smile.
“What’s happening at home?” I asked, breaking a silent spell and thinking about my parents.
“Earth is intact. Preston wasn’t lying about that,” Octavia admitted.
“What do the Velibar look like?” I asked.
“I could tell you, but I’d rather show you.” She tapped a Tab down, and the lights dimmed, a projection emerging from her screen, showcasing a being. The hologram stood roughly four feet on the table, but I had a feeling the creature was much larger. Its shoulders were wide, t
he waist ample. The clothing was brown, armored and shiny. Tentacles drooped over an oval mouth. Its head was bald and smooth, with ridges over two milky-white eyes. The voice that emerged was deep, gargling.
“You will be destroyed.” It spoke English, the words rusty but clear enough.
The image faded, and the lights returned.
“This is the sole captive we managed to contain during the incursion. He will only repeat the same phrase.” Octavia set the projector controls down.
“I suspect there will be no negotiations with the Velibar. They’ll come, and I hate to say it, but I support Octavia’s motion. The Primaries are disbanded,” Frank Under grunted.
I’d once despised the man with a fury, but seeing him back the only real alternative at a time the people needed it almost changed my view of the Sage CEO.
“I wish there was another option,” Eclipse said. “Something they’d never see coming.”
I cleared my throat, and all eyes fell on me. “I might have an idea.”
Epilogue
Eclipse and Octavia crowded behind me on Pilgrim, and I felt their anxiety as I accessed the message from the depths of the Milky Way.
“Before I show you, what was up with the last elimination event in the Race?” I asked Octavia.
“What do you mean?” It was obvious by her expression that she understood what I meant. “Fine. We had our doubts about Bryson and SeaTech, and we wanted to breach his security while you were in restart mode. You were too smart for that trick, though. Fortunately, it wasn’t him we should have been worried about at all. We never expected your team to see through the contest and destroy our probing drone.”
“It was a good attempt,” I admitted.
“Not good enough,” Eclipse mumbled.
“Here’s the message.”
Level Dark. Destination: Refuge. Location unknown. Assault imminent.
“And they’re near Paedra?” Octavia asked.
“That’s where the message originated from, but not the location they gave us.” I pointed at the second line. “Destination: Refuge. That sounds promising. But even they say the location is unknown.”
“We have to try,” Eclipse said.
I peered up at her. “Try what?”
“To meet them. Maybe they can help us defend against the Velibar.” She had hope in her eyes, an emotion I wasn’t mirroring.
“It’s impossible. That is nowhere near us. It’ll take…” Jade typed on her PersaTab.
“Jade?” I asked.
“Three years and nine months,” she responded from behind the two older ladies.
“By then, the Velibar will be roasting us over the spit.” I instantly regretted my choice of phrasing, but neither of them seemed bothered in the least.
“The Racer. We’ll fit her with a new technology. We’ve been stifling interstellar travel for years, and it’s time we stop that,” Octavia said.
“What? You have faster-than-light capabilities?” Jade asked, bumping her way to my pilot’s seat.
“The Corporations would have gone to unsafe levels trying to expand, to use resources from other systems, and we wanted them here, in control. Who knows what kind of disasters they’d have encountered? It wasn’t worth the risk, not yet.” Octavia sighed. “But there’s been no greater time than now. We’ll outfit Pilgrim with the tech. You’ll be able to reach it within weeks.”
“If we arrive at all. This is an untested technology, right?” Jade seemed nervous about this plan.
“That’s correct, but we don’t have the luxury of wasting time. We’ll outfit the Racer, and if you don’t want to be the team to seek out allies, we’ll find someone that does. Perhaps Varn Wallish.”
She knew how to get me. “Fine. We’re in.” I glanced at Luther, who’d remained silent for the duration of their visit. He nodded at me, supporting my decision. “Jade?”
“Fly to another solar system on untested FTL drives? Why not?”
A plain white robot approached behind her and stuck his hand out. “I’m in as well. But I wouldn’t mind a nice paint job before we go.”
“R11, it’s good to have you back,” I told the recently downloaded robot.
Holland’s absence was a black hole of our own.
“We’re all reconvening at Earth. Head to the rendezvous, and we’ll begin working on the redesign at once,” Octavia told me. “And, Arlo…”
I stood, facing the sisters. “Thank you for sticking your neck out. We couldn’t have done this without you.”
“I’m just doing my part,” I said. “Any idea when we’re getting our Space Race trophy?”
____________
After a quick visit with my parents on their retirement island, I found myself in Bryson’s head office. Mom and Dad had been crestfallen at the news. It was so bittersweet for Dad to hear his own father had lived. It was quickly ruined when I told him about the demands, and that Preston Lewis was working on behalf of the Velibar. I’d left them with promises I wasn’t sure I could keep.
“Welcome, Arlo. I know you’ve had a lot on your mind, and I thank you for joining me today.” Bryson motioned for me to follow him into the elevator.
“I’m sorry about Holland.” I’d already said this a few times, and I couldn’t help but feel to blame for his absence.
“Nothing that happened was your fault, Arlo. You won the Race for us. I’ll never forget what you accomplished. Maybe one day, we’ll see our reward together,” he said.
“If we survive that long.”
“Yes.”
The elevator lowered, and when the doors opened, I wasn’t surprised to find more guards on duty.
“At ease,” Bryson told them.
“Sir, is everything going to be okay?” one of them asked their CEO.
“You’ve watched the feeds, right?” I asked the pair of men. They were young and obviously took their posting seriously.
They nodded in unison. Everyone knew of the Velibar now.
“Don’t worry, Sal. You have nothing to worry about at SeaTech. Keep doing your job, and we’re going to find a way to make this all right.” Bryson smiled at the guards, and they hesitantly accepted his blanket statement.
We passed them, heading inside. The room was empty, and we walked for the central consoles, activating the camera feeds. They showed the same glass chamber I’d seen before. More had been added, and all were covered by the same mossy substance. “You’ve been multiplying,” I whispered to them.
“I have an idea, but it’s going to take some finesse. I’ll work on it while you’re gone in search of an ally, but when you return, I expect to have it operational.” Bryson’s eyes were wide, his face stoic.
“What kind of plan? You’re going to use these creatures?” I recalled the woman’s red eyes and anger as she battered against my helmet.
“That’s about the gist of it.” Bryson turned to face me and set his hands on my shoulders. “I learned that Catarina is alive, and now my son is gone. You’re on my team…a member of SeaTech, but more importantly, the only person I trust to have my back. Holland is going to need your assistance in the coming weeks.”
“You want to find them, don’t you?”
He nodded slowly, letting go of me. “With Jade’s help, we started to search for their home. Using the computer on board the ship you captured, we think we have it.”
My jaw dropped. “You already found the Velibar home planet?”
“Perhaps not. They seem to be nomads, but we discovered a post. Come back safe, and I suspect that’s where we’ll find Holland. If they built a gate, it’s logical they were feeding ships through it from the closest system they’ve occupied after Proxima.”
“How do you know they aren’t there?” I asked.
“Because Jade says there’s no communication from that region, and I believe her. Preston was lying to us.”
“Why?”
“Because he wants to keep humans penned on Earth. It makes the Velibars’ life much easier to
invade,” he said.
“No problem. I’ll be ready when you are.” I shook his hand as I glanced past him to the green moss creature’s glass case beyond. I wondered just what he was planning on doing with them, but didn’t get a chance to ask.
“Arlo, are you there?” Jade’s voice was rushed in my earpiece.
“Go ahead.” I saw the moss rippling as I spoke.
“You have to get to the ship. Now.”
“Why?”
“They’ve responded.” Her call ended, and I took one last glance toward the ocean beyond Bryson’s tall glass walls.
“I have to go. We’ve made contact.”
“I wish you speed and safety, Hawk,” Bryson said, and I dashed ahead, leaving SeaTech behind for the time being.
I hurried in Capricious, making my way to Primary City in my old vessel. No matter how many times I asked Jade to relay the communication, she refused. Finally, my ship lowered into the giant city, and we moved for the Board’s head office, where Pilgrim was undergoing her confidential modifications.
Luther and Jade were on board, with a freshly painted R11. He’d opted for a more toned-down color palette, and was gray and black, without the splashes of red across his face.
“What does it say?” I asked.
Luther just pointed, and I saw the string of alien text on the screen. The words were displayed in English beneath.
Welcome Earth. Destination: Refuge. First stop. Assault circumvented. Meet in sixty rotations.
“They want to meet us,” I whispered.
Jade and Luther smiled, but I sensed their trepidation at the response. It meant this was real, that we were stepping into the unknown. Now, with the Velibar threatening our very existence, things had changed.
I stared at the image of a blurry star in a distant place and grinned. I’d always wanted more than what was placed before me, and now I had it.
Space Race was over, but I couldn’t help but feel the real race had only begun.
The End
Space Race (Space Race 1) Page 28
