The Colony (The Survivors Book Seventeen)

by Nathan Hystad

  “What do you think of these Inlorian Cyclones?” Mary asked.

  “I like what I see so far,” I admitted.

  It was our debut venture using one, and the only reason we were taking it instead of my modified Kraski vessel was because it allowed us to go twenty percent faster. This was a new model, powered by Inlor’s proprietary energy source.

  The craft was cylindrical, with four balancers for in-atmosphere flights, and a single thruster with twice the power of most dual versions. It was far more spacious than my ship, with ample room for a crew of six. We didn’t need the space, but it was nice to be able to stretch our legs on the lengthy flight.

  The bridge had two primary seats, with two others along the sides. Our Alliance networks were built into the system, everything being translated into English for us. The chairs were angled slightly toward one another, aimed at a gently curved viewscreen. The seats were comfortable, and I sank into the soft fabric, the materials quickly conforming to my body.

  “This is nice,” Mary whispered.

  “A lot better than sitting on a rock.”

  After a few minutes of check marking the pre-flight routine, we were ready to go. The Cyclone was parked near the Board headquarters in downtown Haven, and we lifted off, getting a good view of Mary’s workplace. “Will you miss the office?” I asked.

  “I could use a break.” Mary smiled at me. “But I might miss some things.”

  The skies were clear today. The Cyclone rose high, and I shot the suborbital defense team our authorization code. It was instantly approved, and Mary took us into space. Anticipation flooded my limbs as I gawked at Haven through the viewscreen. I tried to imagine lowering to Ebos and learning what we could.

  “If Ebos is in fact prime for the taking, what are you thinking?” I asked.

  “There’s a few options. We’ve been talking about relocating the Hokka, since their planet is disintegrating faster then they’d thought.”

  “I didn’t know that,” I said. Actually, I had no idea who or what the Hokka were.

  “You have that look,” she said.

  “No I don’t.” It wasn’t easy to hide things from your wife when she knew you this well.

  “Yes. Tell me about the Hokka.” Mary sped forward, thrusting us away. We passed the first moon, and I stared at it while we went by.

  “The Hokka.” I cleared my throat. “They’re on a world where things… Fine. Tell me.”

  “They joined the Alliance three years ago, after we started receiving all those applications. We learned they were experiencing strange occurrences on their surface, and we assumed that’s why they enlisted.”

  “So we could help them,” I said.

  “Naturally. We’re not a charity, but we’re also not going to abandon those in need without trying to assist them. The Hokka have a complicated language, yet they refuse to learn any others. It’s made our discussions… interesting.”

  “Wait, none of them will even use the universal implant?” Everyone seemed to have it.

  Mary shook her head and continued. “Nope, but it doesn’t matter. We realized their core was emitting radiation. More than they could handle. But the people themselves don’t react adversely to it.”

  “Then what’s the problem?”

  “The radiation is killing off their trees. Can you imagine what will happen to an ecosystem if you eliminate trees? Permanently? New ones won’t grow, old trees are dying. Faster now than ever,” she said.

  “And you think they’d be willing to move?”

  “They’ve said as much, but that’s a lot of resources to give a new member. We’re working on a method to minimize the core’s radiation, because that would be the ideal scenario.” Mary tapped the screen and set her course.

  We had nothing but time over the next few weeks. It was better if I ripped this bandage off early. If Mary freaked out, at least we were close to home. “Mary…”

  She grinned. “Already?”

  My wife was hilarious. “Not that. Well, not that I’m against it, but we need to talk.”

  Her face paled. “This sounds serious.”

  I rubbed a hand on my chin. “Ovalax didn’t completely die.”

  ____________

  Jaessa slept in the Alliance’s private section of the hotel while Jules thought about what to do with her.

  “She doesn’t even know how to get home,” Magnus said.

  “The ship will tell us,” Nat suggested.

  “But it’s only showing us the galaxy. How many systems and stars are even in the Violet Bloom?” Jules asked. She estimated she could pinpoint the planet if she worked with Jaessa. Her intuition was flaring up at the sight of the girl.

  “We don’t have that information, but it’s likely to be in the millions. There has to be a way to backtrack.” Magnus stretched his arms overhead, and sank deeper into the chair. They were in the Alliance-funded conference room, one of the few locations on Udoon Station where Jules thought they might be able to speak openly.

  She pictured their own Shandra map, and its vastness. It was difficult to fathom how distant Jaessa’s home was from them.

  “The technology is impressive,” Nat told them. “To be able to slip into stasis and travel that far is astounding.”

  “She said it was preset for twenty years.” Jules cringed as she pictured the terrible drop troopers Jaessa had described to her.

  “What do we know about the Brack?” Magnus asked.

  “Not enough. Jaessa is a teenager. Daughter of her people’s governor. She was more concerned with grades in school, and making friends, than the politics.”

  A buzzer sounded, and Rivo poked her head into the room. “Jaessa is up. Can I bring her in?”

  Rivo had been staying close to the stranger, and Jules wondered if it had anything to do with her fascination with their technology. Rivo had a big heart, but her business came first.

  “Yes. Let’s talk with her.” Magnus stood up to pour a glass of water as Jaessa entered the room. She was taller than Jules had expected since she’d seen her lying down inside her ship.

  Jaessa looked at Jules. Her yellow hair was even brighter in the room.

  “Hello,” she said in English.

  Jules frowned as she approached her. “Did they give you the language modification?”

  “I asked them to. I wanted to beg for your assistance, and didn’t desire to be limited to your ears only.” Jaessa cast her gaze to the ground. She seemed sheepish.

  “I don’t blame you.” Jules turned and walked away. “You didn’t wish for me to be the only person hearing your story. You thought I might translate it wrong. Purposely?” Jules felt slightly betrayed at the notion of deceit.

  “My father taught me that you can’t trust anyone until they’ve earned it. I do not know you, but you scare me. The picture. It’s you. How? It is hundreds of years old, and you… appear to be nearly my age,” Jaessa said. “And those eyes…”

  Jules scanned herself, sensing that her powers were held at bay. They weren’t glowing at the moment. “I still think that…”

  Magnus handed the water to Jaessa. “Jules, she’s quite reasonable. Her father is a wise man.”

  “Was.” Jaessa drank deeply and dabbed her mouth with a cloth from her pocket. “The Brack likely killed him in their invasion.”

  “Were there no nearer allies?” Natalia asked.

  Jaessa lowered the glass and joined Nat on the couch. She sat up straight, her hands folded on her narrow lap. She was poised, clearly the daughter of a dignitary. “There are the Yooga, but they were probably defeated as well. I searched for the name Udoon because of the picture… it was foolish.”

  “No.” Magnus’ voice was firm. “You did the right thing.”

  “Why? My family is dead, my people enslaved by the Brack.” Jaessa’s composure cracked, and a tear escaped, rolling down her cheek.

  “We’re going to find them. If your people are occupied, we will liberate them.” Magnus said it
with so much conviction, Jules could have hugged him.

  “Thank you, stranger,” Jaessa said.

  “I’m not a stranger. My name is Magnus. I’m the captain of Outpost, and the leader of the Alliance Institute.” He shook her hand. Nat seemed amused by the interaction.

  “Then you will assist me?” Jaessa watched Jules.

  “Of course we will. I can’t believe Fontem visited your home,” Jules told her.

  “You know this Fontem?” the girl asked. “I suspect he stayed on Adrol long before my parents were born. The book was gifted to me when I turned eight.”

  “We were allies with Fontem. But he’s gone.”

  “Dead?”

  Jules had no idea how she could explain the multidimensions or the Deities to Jaessa, so she didn’t. “No, he moved on.”

  Nat stared at Magnus. “What’s the plan?”

  “We determine the pod’s origin. Then we lock in with Outpost’s wormhole generator, and pay these Brack a visit. We’ve been aching to test out the most advanced warship in our own galaxy for a while.” Magnus cracked his knuckles.

  “That’s the plan? Take them by surprise?” Jules scoffed.

  “You have a better one? Commander.” He said her title through a smirk.

  “We locate her home and jump a fair distance from it, do some recon. It’s been twenty years. A lot could happen in that time. There’s a chance her people might have fended off the invasion. She ran during the initial incursion.” Jules hoped this was the case.

  “That is impossible. We were not prepared. My father tried gathering support for defenses, but the committee refused. No one expected the Brack to be so bold,” Jaessa said.

  Jules scooted forward on her seat. “What was your relationship with the Brack? What happened?”

  Jaessa blinked rapidly, then sighed. “The Brack have been around since the dawn of our time.”

  “They have?” Magnus asked.

  “Yes. Watching and waiting for us to develop. We were visited by them. They arrived in an interstellar vessel, landing amidst our capital city, creating chaos and panic, for we had never seen a ship like this. But they didn’t interact with us. They would come and leave. Eventually, we learned that they did this often on other worlds as well. But over the last few decades, they’ve grown braver. My father thinks they were searching for something.” Jaessa broke off. “May I have more water?”

  Jules was so caught up in the story, she used her powers to float the pitcher to Jaessa. She poured it with her mind, and Jaessa’s breath caught in her lungs as she gasped. “How did you…”

  Jules let her green eyes glow for a moment. “I’m different.”

  “I can see that.” Instead of acting fearful, Jaessa sipped the water and smiled at Jules.

  “You have no idea why they attacked Adrol?” Magnus asked her.

  “None. They didn’t seem to be in the talking mood.” Jaessa stared at her hands as she flexed her fingers. “We couldn’t do anything to stop them. Their ships are far more advanced than our own, at least on the weapons front. We Fera are more concerned with our own planet than exploring space, and we are peaceful. We only had defenses in case a threat similar to the Brack hit us. Most of what we have originated from neighbors, like the Yooga.”

  “What kind of things did they give you?” Rivo asked.

  “Tools to improve our standard of living. Automation for manufacturing.”

  “Your industrial revolution was helped by the handouts from another alien race,” Magnus said.

  “I suppose so. My people grew smarter, and eventually learned to make our own ships, using pieces of the Yooga’s offerings. The last visit from the Brack came a century ago, and that governor decided it was time to deny them access to Adrol.” Jaessa’s voice quivered. “He was killed in the vengeful assault. My great-grandfather was also murdered when my grandmother was only three.”

  “I’m sorry,” Natalia whispered.

  “We knew the Brack would be angry about it, and my father was named governor a decade ago. Now that twenty years have passed, I guess it’s been three decades. No one else desired the position, not with the threat of the Brack’s return. Despite knowing this, the committee wouldn’t invest in defenses. They wanted to give the Brack what they sought without argument.”

  Jules already hated the Brack. There were too many races taking advantage of others, using their advanced technology to carry the upper hand against fledgling planets. In a sense, it reminded her of what the Sect of Memories did, only on a grander scale.

  “Did the Brack not even attempt to communicate before hitting your cities?” Magnus asked her.

  Jaessa ran her fingers through her stark yellow hair and shook her head. “They invaded. I’ve never seen a drop trooper before, but they were terrible. I watched my mother die… the streets were a bloodbath.”

  Nat stepped over and hugged the girl. She was a stoic woman, but her maternal instincts were strong. Since Patty and Dean had grown up, Nat wasn’t needed as much, and it probably weighed on her.

  Rivo’s tablet beeped, and she grinned at the group. “It appears that we nearly have a destination from the ship.”

  Jules couldn’t wait to visit Jaessa’s home. The thrill of the chase, and redemption for Jaessa and her people, drove her emotions.

  “What do you say we show you Udoon Station?” Magnus asked Jaessa. She wore one of the Alliance uniforms, and it was baggy on her slender form.

  “I’d like that,” Jaessa said.

  “Don’t judge us based on what you see here.” Jules led her into the hall, and silently urged the technicians to retrieve the proper data soon.

  Five

  “What do you mean, Ovalax didn’t die?” Mary demanded. She glared at me from the pilot’s seat, and I instantly regretting telling her at this moment. Maybe when we were farther from home, or when she was more relaxed.

  I considered altering my story, but that wasn’t how I wanted to act with my wife. It felt as if Ovalax was persuading me, desperate to keep him a secret from the woman I loved more than life itself. I thought I could feel him rubbing at my brain, and I scratched my head.

  “Dean, are you going to talk to me?” Mary reached for my arm.

  “Yes.” I huffed out a breath and faced her. Beyond the viewscreen, we sped through the system, destined for our eventual target. We had one stop to make before Ebos, where Mary had to drop off something to a remote Alliance partner. I hoped I survived her wrath until then. “Ovalax entered my mind when we fought, and part of him didn’t leave.”

  Mary stared at me in silence.

  “I’ve been seeing things ever since. Visions.”

  She finally broke her silence, and I wished she hadn’t. “For six months? You haven’t told me about this until now? When we’re alone on a mission to Ebos?”

  “I know, but I can explain—”

  “Go ahead.”

  I’d thought of how to broach the subject countless times, but hadn’t predicted this outcome. I was flustered, unable to convey my words. “It’s like this… I think he’s poisoned my mind, and I can’t—”

  “Dean, why did you keep it a secret?” Her hand lifted to her cheek as if she’d been struck. “The headaches. The passing out. That’s what’s been going on with you, isn’t it?”

  I nodded my response.

  “So Nick knows. Who else? Am I the only one that wasn’t told that a mind-eating monster was living in my husband?” She shouted the last comment.

  “No. Karo and Nick are aware.” I hated my deceit. “I’m sorry. I wanted an answer before I freaked you out.”

  “This is how we work now? Twenty years, Dean. You don’t trust me after everything we’ve gone through.” She was quiet, whispering softly.

  “I do trust you. I didn’t trust myself with this thing inside me. I was trying to protect you,” I pleaded.

  “No. You don’t get to protect me. I can take care of myself. As for Ovalax, what are we going to do about him?” she
asked.

  “I was hoping to find a solution, but I’m coming up empty.”

  Mary clutched the controls and let them go. “Can you explain how it feels?”

  As she waited for my reply, the fury boiling on her surface was mitigated, like a bucket of chilled water had doused the anger. I knew she was setting it aside for now, while her intelligent problem-solving mind replaced her current state.

  “It started off slowly. The first time occurred while we were having a meeting at Terran One. Patel’s aide came in, and I saw her falling off a high-rise. I also pictured her old and playing fetch with a dog at the park. Like I was seeing two potential outcomes.”

  “Patel’s aide died five months ago,” Mary said softly.

  “Jumped off her apartment building balcony. I guess she’d been struggling since the Event, and not even time could heal those wounds.” I’d attended her funeral. My whole family had, probably wondering why I wanted to observe the service of a woman we’d only met on a couple of occasions. Now Mary understood.

  “You should have helped her.”

  I’d thought the same thing early on, but not anymore. “No. I didn’t realize what was true. How could I?”

  “What else?”

  I told her about another ten visions. None of them had come true so far, that I could tell, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t.

  “And the one at Suma’s wedding. It knocked you out,” she said.

  “They’re getting worse.”

  “I’m turning us around.” Mary started to type commands into her dash control panel, and I grabbed her hand.

  “Don’t. This is what I need. To come clean, and solve it with you at my side.”

  She almost smiled, but the information was far from pleasant. “Okay, but what happens if you drop again? What do I do?”

  “I don’t think that’ll be the case. They aren’t consistent.”