I have been working on it but have been more focused on the Zan’ra and time travel challenges. I will shift to this. Are you planning on doing what it asks? Freeing them?
I shook my head. “I’m undecided, but I want the option.” I hated how many moving pieces there were to our current situation. Old gods, a powerful enemy with unlimited resources trying to merge timelines for revenge, and my daughter learning about the Zan’ra and struggling to find her friends.
I glanced at Karo as we started to leave, knowing the Theos were an important piece to the universe. He’d been surprised to hear there were anything called “Deities” even out there, and that had shocked me. The universe was a vast place, where ancient gods thrived and died and never crossed paths.
I stopped Karo at the elevator’s exit. “You want to come with us?”
He acted sheepish, staring at the ground. “I’ll have to ask my wife.”
____________
The chiming from the cockpit woke Jules from her light slumber. She’d been dreaming: of four circles, the X, and Patty with glowing purple eyes. The last thing she’d seen before opening her eyes was Dean trying to breathe, his face turning blue.
“Dean!” she called, sitting up straight.
“You’re okay,” Artimi said from ahead. “We’re nearly there. You were talking in your sleep.”
She wiped her mouth with a sleeve and stared out the viewscreen. There were twin moons to either side, orbiting a dark brown planet. It didn’t appear as though there was any water on the surface. “Is this Elion?” she asked.
Betheal, Artimi’s robot, answered, “This is Elion. Current population listed at nineteen thousand four hundred and seventeen.”
“That’s not many for an entire planet,” Jules muttered.
“If you’ve ever been there, you’d say it’s more than enough.” Artimi almost spat the words.
“What’s it like?” She leaned over his seat, trying to garner a better view.
“Dirty. It had a solid century of disasters, volcanoes, tornados… anything you can think of, and it left the world a husk of what it once was. The oceans dried up, and now, the people fight over the remaining water catchment stations. It’s bad.”
“Why doesn’t someone help them?” Jules thought the Alliance of Worlds would.
“It’s too far gone. You try landing nearby, they’ll tear you apart,” he said, as if he had firsthand experience on the surface.
“They can’t be that bad.”
“Well, they are, and then some,” Artimi added.
“Where’s the station?” she asked, wishing she was floating through space alone, without the company of this loner and his robotic partner.
“Ahead.” He pointed to the radar screen, and she spotted the small blinking indicator light. Was Dean still there?
Something didn’t sit right. “How could someone have seen my friend out here? If the world is full of trouble, and the station is derelict…”
“There’s a secondary station, one people like me use when passing through. Ship components, food supplies, weapons…”
“Like a junkyard trading post?” Jules asked, feeling the sting of the comment.
“Sure. Something like that. All I ask is that you be cautious when we arrive. There’s no other post like this for four systems, so this one gets more traffic than you’d expect,” he told her.
“We’re not heading there. We need to hit Elion Station first,” she ordered him.
“Look, I need supplies, and you’re supposed to pay me. We’re making this deal first, then we’ll see if your boyfriend is hiding in the old space station, okay?” Artimi’s voice lowered, and he frowned deeply, indicating there was no other option.
“Fine, but let’s make it quick.”
They continued the rest of the trip in relative silence, Jules watching for signs of the older space station in the viewscreen. She thought she spotted it to her left, but at that moment, Artimi changed trajectories, and their destination came into view. Another ship coursed above them, large thrusters pulsing as it moved for the docking bay.
The station was unnamed, according to her pilot.
“What do you call it, then?” she asked him as he slowed propulsion, moving toward an empty dock.
“The Hub.” The ship latched along the upper ring over the floating structure. It didn’t appear special; it was clearly visible where the original station had been erected and where the proprietors had added onto it over the years. To her shock, there were over twenty vessels parked here, and she even recognized a Padlog ship among them. She wondered what one of the Alliance of Worlds members was doing at such a shady establishment.
The station had three rings around it, rotating for gravity. Jules followed Artimi as he stalked through his ship, heading for the exit. Betheal remained in the cockpit as per his instructions and had silently returned to her charging port.
Jules glanced at herself, seeing the pristine white uniform of the Gatekeepers.
“Do you have anything… less conspicuous to wear?” Artimi asked.
With his matching suit and bowler hat, she thought he might be the one that stood out between the pair of them. Jules shook her head. “This is everything I brought.”
“That won’t do. Let’s see what I have.” Artimi rummaged through several crates, casting lids aside as he searched through them. She had half a mind to leave, exit the station, and float over to the other one, but she needed to show some patience. That was what her mom would tell her. Papa would be thinking the same thing as her.
He returned a few minutes later with a black cloak constructed from patches of leather. It was lighter than she’d expected, and Jules slid it over her shoulders. It draped to her shins, and she kept the cowl off her head.
“Now, for those eyes… try these.” He pulled tinted goggles from his pocket, and she groaned.
She placed them over her head, adjusting the strap so they stayed secure. Everything turned a few shades darker.
“Perfect. I can’t tell you have glowing green eyes. Which, you’ll notice, I haven’t harassed you about.” He shifted on his feet, hands finding his hips. “Last part. Time to talk about our payment.”
“What’s fair to you?” she asked, surprised he hadn’t negotiated before the trip. She could have been lying to him. Then she’d be stuck, or at least, that was what he would assume.
“I was thinking a thousand credits,” he suggested, his expression impassive.
It was a lofty sum, but Jules didn’t have time to barter. “Look, all I have is this.” She reached into the cloak and to the front pocket of her uniform. Her hand clutched one of the Inlorian bars, and she pulled it out, leaving two behind.
It was the first time she’d seen the façade of the confident pilot falter. His eyes narrowed, and she noticed his hand move toward the gun at his hip, as if this were a setup. She was prepared for an attack, but none came.
“Where did you find that?” His voice was small.
“I’m surprised you even recognize it,” she told him.
“That’s my ticket out of here,” he said, with a slight waver to his words.
“What about your brother?” she asked.
He took a step toward her, making her take one back. “He’s gone. I’ve been here too long, and I needed you to remind me there was more than that cot and those four walls.”
“Gather your supplies, we ask after Dean, and then you bring me to the station. If I need to leave, you take me to Ravios, right?” Jules wasn’t going to enjoy returning to the place littered with huge insatiable demons, but she’d be okay.
He jutted his hand out, palm up, and she slid the bar into it. He gripped it tightly, clutching it to his chest. “Deal.” Artimi tipped the brim of his bowler cap to her, and the bar disappeared into his coat. “Time to go.” He pressed the ramp open, and they emerged from the ship onto the docking corridor. The space was cramped and dark, and they entered the central station after crossing the one-hundre
d-meter throughway.
“You know where you’re going?” she asked, squinting behind the tinted lenses. She was sure she looked stupid, which would normally matter to a teenage girl, but he was right. Out here, she needed to be more cautious.
The circular room was empty, but someone sat behind a desk. It had scales and two heads, each with a flickering angry tongue lapping at the air.
“Business?” both heads asked in unison. They spoke the same language as Artimi, telling her they knew him.
“Supplies,” he said. The heads bobbed up and down, and it keyed something onto a screen.
A light flashed, sending a scanner beam over the two of them, and Jules flinched as it receded.
“Common procedure. They want to control who’s on and off the station at all times,” he whispered as they walked past the desk toward an elevator.
The large metal doors were tall enough to accommodate all sizes of visitors, and they slid shut with a bang. Gravity almost vanished as they lowered, Jules’ feet nearly lifting from the floor. Artimi observed it with quiet acceptance, and soon they stopped, the doors opening to bustling activity.
“This is the central Hub, where everyone sells their wares. Keep close. Don’t try to stand out in any way. And whatever you do, don’t take those goggles off,” he ordered her.
Jules didn’t like being bossed around by the stranger, but it was his arena, not hers, so she’d have to listen to his suggestions. There were so many unfamiliar beings here, from lizard-like people to an entity in a gaseous state. She heard its thoughts as it moved through her without seeming to care.
“Where do you hear news?” she asked.
“Everywhere.” The room was round, and the vendors had small unlabeled storefronts, as if anyone visiting would already know what each of them held. This one had what appeared to be a bald woman, her skin flaking like she’d had a terrible sunburn.
“Artimi, what a pleasant surprise,” the woman said, her voice high and airy.
“Nuul, meet Jules. I need some goods,” he said.
“The usual?” she asked.
Jules peered over the counter, where numerous stacks of square canned goods were stamped with alien labels.
Artimi shook his head. “Better triple it, and… I’m trying to help Jules here track someone down.”
“Is that so? And do you think I’d know anything about that?” she asked. Her skin was pink, and more flakes fell, being replaced by others. Jules had never seen anything like it.
“Nuul, you know everything around this place.”
Jules smiled as she watched Artimi butter up the vendor. She leaned toward them and put a skinny hand to her mouth. “It’ll cost you.”
Artimi smiled, sliding the Inlorian bar onto the table. “I hope you have change.”
Four
“Are you sure this is such a good idea?” Mary asked. Our place felt so empty without the kids. Maggie was at my feet, snoring on her side, but otherwise, it was deadly silent in our suite.
“Is it ever a good idea to go wandering to a planet once occupied by the Arnap?” I asked, mostly joking, but Mary didn’t seem to find amusement in my words.
“I’m coming with you,” she said. She sat close, our knees touching, but she pulled away as if she were angry with me.
“You can’t come, honey. Jules might return home, and if anything happens to…”
She grabbed my hand. “Don’t say it. You’ll be fine. I’m not worried about that. Slate’s with you too, which eases my mind a bit. Honestly, I don’t even want to go. I’m tired of doing this.”
“Doing what?” I asked.
Her arm raised, her finger circling over her head. “This. All of this. First it was saving the world, then finding the Theos, then stopping Lom, and now we’re talking about time travel and Deities. It’s too much, Dean. All I wanted was to work on the board of the Alliance, make a real difference. And here we are, you the captain of Light, and look at us…”
“Mary…”
“Let me finish. You’re leaving again. Jules is God knows where, and Hugo’s at the Academy—not because we want him to become a Gatekeeper, but because we’re scared to bring him into danger with us. This can’t go on,” she said, a single tear falling over her cheek.
“We don’t have a choice,” I told her.
“Why does it have to be us? Why can’t someone else do it?” she asked.
“Because Jules has the essence of a Zan’ra inside her, and I’m a Recaster.” I said the last quietly. “And you said you wanted me to become the captain of this ship.”
“That was before I knew what was going to happen. We were supposed to drop off some friends we saved from the Collector. They were diplomatic missions, and I thought I might be able to talk a few of them into joining our Alliance, expanding our reach. But now… there’s too much at stake,” Mary said. She rarely spoke like this, and I could tell she’d been thinking about these things for a while. Bottling them up.
“Do you want me to stay here?” I asked.
“No. Go to Ephor, find Hanrion’s lab, and learn what you can,” Mary said.
I wiped her tear streak away and kissed her softly. “I will.”
“And finish it. I’ll help Jules find Patty when she brings Dean home, and together, we’re going to end this once and for all,” she told me with resolve.
“And after that?” I asked, wondering if this was my last chance at adventure.
“We’ll talk,” she said, finally breaking and giving me a smile.
“I’d better go,” I told her.
She helped me gather my suit and supplies, and walked with me as we headed toward deck two and the ship’s portal. Slate and Suma chatted with the stationed guards near the entrance, each in their EVAs. Fontem and Karo were just inside the doorway, suited up as well.
“Boss, you look rested.” Slate glanced at Mary. “We’ll be home soon.”
Mary set a hand on his arm and nodded. “Make sure of it.”
I was leaving my wife alone on the ship, with most of the bridge crew coming with me. Loweck was in charge while we were absent, much to Sergo’s chagrin. Somehow the ex-thief expected me to give him autonomy in my absence.
I said my last goodbye to Mary, and we all gathered near the glowing crystals, the green color reminding me of Jules. The door closed, and we stood in a circle around the table while Suma found Ephor’s symbol. We knew next to nothing about the world, since the Gatekeepers hadn’t catalogued it, and we were solely relying on Regnig’s information. We had an old digital map on a tablet Fontem held, which we should be able to decipher once our drones took to the sky.
Suma’s snout wiggled beyond her helmet’s visor, and she stared at me. “Captain, are we ready?”
“Let’s do it.”
The room went bright, but the whiteness didn’t fade for me.
I wanted to leave, to join the others on Ephor, but was stuck behind, somewhere between the portals. It had been years since this had happened to me, and I looked around the white expanse, searching for a sign of the older me.
“Hello!” I shouted, but the words didn’t echo. Quite the opposite. It sounded like I yelled against an acoustical wall.
I gazed down, seeing my feet weren’t planted. I floated in the void, not as fearful as I had been before.
A dot glistened in the distance, and I called to it again, with no response. It felt like ten minutes before the figure arrived, stepping towards me. I waved at it, thinking it had to be the same Not-Dean that had visited me previously.
“What kind of riddle do you have for me this time?” I muttered under my breath.
Something was wrong. The starkness of the void began growing darker, and I caught the outline of the figure as it neared. This person was huge. It was hard to tell from this distance, but I guessed he was at least two feet taller than me, twice as wide, and it clicked.
“Lom…”
His scarred face twisted in a half grin, since the other side was made o
f metal. He wore a black shirt over matching pants, covering the metallic parts of his cyborg body. “Dean Parker,” he said, his voice grating and deep.
“How are you doing this?” I asked.
“You should ask yourself, since he’s the one I tortured to figure it out.” He smiled again, and I cringed at the idea of Lom with older Dean, forcing information from me.
“What do you want?” I asked, trying to act calm and sure of myself. I felt the polar opposite. My heart raced, my hands trembling.
He was close enough for me to witness his terrible expression. His smile made me sick. “I just wanted to see you, Dean. One more time.”
“So this is it?” I asked. “Finally retiring?”
“Always quick with the jokes.” He lingered a good ten meters from me, hands at his sides. “Do you remember what I said that day?”
I thought about them, each word etched into my memory.
“I’ll take your beaten body and make you watch as I kill your child, then your wife. You’ll view it all from above as I destroy New Spero, and then, as I hunt every damned human out there, you’ll be by my side, broken, without a tongue to argue, with no hands to fight. You’ll watch your people all die, and then, only then, will I consider letting you join them.”
So much had happened, and Jules had just been born. Sixteen years had passed, but I knew those words like he’d spoken them yesterday. I wasn’t going to offer that, though. “Was it something about wanting to go on a trip through time?” My tiresome jokes were going to catch up with me one day.
He smiled again, waving a long finger at me. “I meant every word. Don’t think that anything’s changed, Parker. I will kill them all. And you will watch.”
I shivered but tried to regain my confidence. I had no idea if he could harm me in here, but I didn’t think so, or he’d have acted by now. “We’ll deal with that when the time comes,” I told him. “In the meantime, why don’t you get a good look?”
Old Secrets (The Survivors Book Thirteen) Page 4
