by J. N. Chaney
Rockets reached out from some of the small fighters patrolling the area above the planet. They stripped down. I twisted right, then left, and then changed my vector. I only had so many options due to the demands of reentry and the increasing gravity.
One of the rockets clipped my wing, sheering half of it away. The control shook my hands as I fought to keep the vehicle on course.
"Talk to me, X," I said through clenched teeth.
"Hold this vector," X-37 said. "I'm plotting contingencies for future equipment failures."
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"It means the wing is going to come all the way off soon," X-37 said.
I fought for altitude, keeping my steering as erratic as possible to avoid future rocket strikes. Juking right and left, I searched for a landing field near enough the canyons to provide a hiding place. There weren’t a lot of options.
"They're tracking us and will hunt us once we hit the ground," X-37 said.
“How’s the wing?” I asked. “Give me a status report.”
The ship dropped twenty meters before hitting more turbulence. The impact rattled my teeth. Relying on the strength of my cybernetics would only work for so long. I was finding muscles I didn’t know I had.
“Impact imminent!” X-37 warned.
25
A deafening klaxon woke me up, which was good, because I was already choking. Smoke, dust, and other particulates commonly associated with a shuttle coming apart filled the air. X-37 wouldn’t stop yelling at me.
My right forearm felt like somebody had beaten it with a hammer and the impact had cranked my lower back badly. When the adrenaline of this confrontation wore off, I wouldn't be able to walk for days. Hopefully, I wouldn't need surgery this time.
Rolling forward to a sitting position, I waved one hand for him to shut up. Even if he didn’t see it, he knew my every move and what most of the gestures meant. “Alright! I’m up. Put a sock in it!"
"A sock? Really? How many times do I have to explain that the only one putting a sock any place would be you?" X-37 elaborated. "I have no physical mass to speak of."
"How could I forget. Because I’d really like to kick your ass right now if you had one. Do you think flying a shuttle to the surface is easy?" I asked.
“That was your best landing to date, Reaper Cain,” X deadpanned. "The only part I didn't like was when we almost died."
“I nearly died. You don't have any mass or actual sentience,” I corrected, still dazed. A river of spots ebbed and flowed around the corners of my vision. It was different from the misery I'd suffered on Greendale, but still very unpleasant and probably the result of some serious blunt-force trauma to my head.
Staggering to my feet, I checked myself for injuries and grabbed my gear. The stealth cloak bundle slipped from my shoulder and tangled around my left arm, nearly causing me to throw it away in frustration.
It was hard to think clearly. My arms and legs felt like they were made of lead. Where was everyone? How could I have endangered my friends like this?
X-37 kept telling me that I had been alone and that I would be better served by fleeing the crash site. He also recommended more than once that I use the cloak to disappear.
Suddenly, I wished I had practiced with the tricky device. X-37 had harassed me about becoming proficient with it. Elise had teased me, calling me the only Reaper left alive who couldn’t use one properly.
Who needed a stealth cloak? It was just one more thing to carry. By the time I needed one, I would already be gone—vanished from view of my victims like the angel of death. Or that was what I told myself.
It took me several minutes to reorient and remember what I was doing.
“I have the key, X, but no way to access the data box we recovered on station 2,” I said.
“I started pulling the encryption key while you were taking your post-crash nap. I’m streaming a large amount of information from the Jellybird, despite being unable to contact her directly. She hasn’t left this part of the system,” X-37 explained.
“I feel like death,” I muttered.
“Yet you are alive,” X-37 said. “Information updating now. One second. Okay, two seconds.”
“I hate you, X.” I twisted at the waist, popping my back into place and ignoring about a hundred warning signals from my body.
“Bad news, Reaper Cain. We can’t unlock the data box remotely. There is too much information to transmit and process. However, I now have a location where this can be done in reasonable safety. The coordinates are now designated as the tech shrine on your HUD.”
“Tech shrine?” I asked, confused.
“We will learn more when we get there,” X-37 assured me.
Checking to be sure I had all my gear, I strode toward the canyons, breaking into a steady jog once I was able.
"X, can you tell me where I am and how to get to these tech shrine coordinates? The terrain looks hostile—not a fan of all these canyons and arroyos. I really want to find out who I need to kill for getting me into this," I said, then stopped to vomit between my boots.
"Whenever you're done, I have made contact with Elise," X-37 said.
I moved into the shadow of a narrow ravine, wiping my face with my sleeve. "How can you have contact with Elise? We couldn't even find her outside the station.”
"Apparently, Jelly decided to land the ship while you were searching the third facility and she was evading their extraterrestrial patrols,” X-37 said.
The tactic made sense. If I'd needed an immediate extraction from the station, there would have been problems. But she’d managed not to get caught, so that was a serious bonus. The Union carrier either hadn't been able to look into the canyons from orbit or hadn't anticipated such a move.
"How far away as she?"
"Elise and the Jellybird are thirty-seven kilometers northwest through hard terrain," X-37 said as though this was good news.
"Tell Elise, and Jelly while you're at it, to stand aside and wait for my call," I ordered. "I want them to remain hidden."
"I think you should talk to her yourself," X-37 said. "My connection isn't the best."
"Did you just use deception? That has to be some kind of violation. How can I have my own limited artificial intelligence lying to me?" I said as I navigated to a new section of the maze.
“It was more of a minimization," X-37 rationalized in a low voice. “Why do I have to be in the middle of your drama with Elise?”
"I'm just messing with you, X. I trust you with my life," I said, meaning every word. And why wouldn't I? It wasn’t like I had a choice.
A flicker of a light from beyond the next corner of the canyon maze gave away my enemy’s position. I was surprised they made such a mistake, but anything could happen. In their defense, I picked up even the lowest levels emitted by gun-lights with my Reaper eye.
I changed courses, checking my back trail nearly as often as I checked where I was going. Looking up to the cliffs was increasingly important as well.
“Put Elise on the channel,” I said.
"Jelly already patched me in," Elise said. "We can be at your location in minutes."
I could've answered her but waited several heartbeats to avoid giving away my position to the spec ops troops working their way into the ravine. I had nearly missed them, which meant they were good.
"Talk to me, X," I whispered.
"I detect three full squads of commandos," X-37 said. "There are no individual or unit identifiers on their gear. Possibly spec ops or dark ops. Perhaps something else. There's insufficient data to know for sure."
I quietly withdrew from my position, sinking deeper into the shadows and finding a new branch of the maze to traverse. "Elise, stay clear of this area. I'll explain later."
Her response was serious and tense. "Alright but keep me updated or I'm coming after you."
I signaled X-37 to temporarily exclude Elise and the rest of the team from our communications. "Make sure you let Jelly know what to d
o. She'll have a hard time getting out without getting shot down. The moment they leave the ground, the Union will swarm them with those small fighters. Be sneaky, don’t get her destroyed."
"Understood, Reaper Cain," X-37 said. "I have sent the necessary communications to the Jellybird. She wants me to warn you that Elise is very close to making poor decisions and using override codes she shouldn’t know."
I muttered curses under my breath and wished I had a cigar. It didn't seem like the best time to chastise my LAI for letting me forget such a crucial piece of survival gear. I'd been consuming fewer and fewer, because after the Premiums, the rest of my stash tasted like dead animals. If I was ever going to quit the vice, now was probably the time.
From my new position, I saw the commandos work. They were strangers. Even without unit markers, I thought I should be able to identify them by the way they moved and other tactical habits. But these people were completely new. I was both relieved and worried that Briggs was not among them. We weren’t friends, but I still hoped he might have figured out the Union was using us all like disposable tools. Killing him before we had a chance to work out our differences would be stupid. The more I thought about our last encounter, the more I was convinced he had let me go when he could have sealed my fate with a word.
"X, how much time do you think I have before they find this position?" I asked.
"About 492 seconds," X-37 answered. "Plus or minus .00432 seconds."
I unrolled my stealth cloak, adjusted the gear that would need to remain under it, and put it on. Each section had to be adjusted in a certain order. I followed every step, not being proficient enough to know the shortcuts.
"All systems are functional," X-37 promised.
I sat and breathed and soaked in the night air for several moments before attempting to move. It would be hard to know if I was doing everything right until it was tested. And if I was wrong, then I was probably dead or captured. Game completely the fuck over.
"I only see two squads," I said as I belly-crawled to the edge of the ridge. The stars visible from this planet were white and yellow and dense from horizon to horizon. I felt like I was a target. X-37 kept conversation to a minimum. It wasn't necessary, but we had a standing agreement that less talk was better when stealth was of the utmost importance. He could talk as much as he wanted without alerting our enemies, but it could be distracting. It was also unfair that I couldn’t defend myself verbally when he got in one of his moods.
The two squads cleared an area then regrouped. They put out guards seemingly without having to be ordered. Before long, a representative of the third squad made an appearance. I saw the man moving through scrub grass along one edge of the canyon, nearly invisible even now.
"X, can you listen in?" I asked as I zoomed in my vision for maximum clarity.
“Certainly, Reaper Cain,” X-37 responded.
Every one of the spec ops commandos had their helmets down. In a regular military unit, they might remove helmets or raise visors in a secure area, for variety if not for relief. I suspected they were more comfortable than I was in this environment.
The air was already getting hot despite being the middle of the night. Moisture evaporated from exposed skin. I could hear night animals in the distance and felt like they were watching me. In the immediate vicinity, however, the landscape was as silent as the moment before a blade struck.
"I've analyzed all possible data from this vantage point," X-37 said. "I'll need to know your intentions if I'm to help assist you plan your next move."
"We only have one choice. I'm just trying to figure out how to get there. We need to go to the tech shrine and learn the truth," I said, having wanted to say the truth about something important, but I wasn't sure how to phrase my thoughts. X-37 and I had talked about the very real possibility that the person leading us to this location was my mother.
Would I find her there? Would I find my sister? Would the secrets I had to face destroy me?
"Get me to the tech shrine. We'll gather what information we can and exfiltrate from the area. Then we can contact Elise and Jelly and make our way off the planet. I want you to be planning a way to deal with the carrier and its fighter ships."
"I can also help you assess terrain and monitor movements of your opponents," X-37 said. "Like we did on Dreadmax."
"Fine, but I need to know our long-term escape plan is solid. I can't spend time worrying about getting hosed by a squadron of mini-fighters. I'll need all my concentration just to stay one step ahead of these soldiers," I said.
"Now would be a good time to move," X-37 said. "My analysis suggests less talking and more action."
I didn't answer. I just moved, working my way to another eroded gully where I sat in the shadows and listened to be sure I hadn't been followed. I scanned the area with my ocular sensors.
Hot damn! James Henshaw, you the man! I nearly grunted the exclamation, managing to keep it internal. X-37 knew I was excited but couldn't know exactly what I had thought.
"Is everything okay?" X-37 asked.
I waited until I knew it was safe to speak, then answered, "Henshaw did us a solid. I've never been able to operate with such visual clarity and power."
“I am exceedingly happy for you, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said, sounding neither sincere nor insincere.
When I was sure it was safe to proceed, I adjusted course and moved out.
Things started to happen fast. My first priority was to escape. At every junction, I evaluated which direction would be the least likely way for the Union to be searching, then ran that way—gliding through the night despite how my feet had pounded the treadmill when I ran next to Elise on the Jellybird. This was the work I was made for.
I swam through underground streams to emerge in new sections of the harsh terrain. I climbed over spires. I walked. I ran. Sometimes I climbed sheer cliff faces.
X-37 and I barely talked. Occasionally, he asked me to look at the sky so he could get his bearings and continue to work on his plan to leave the planet and the system beyond.
My evasion of a vastly superior enemy force equipped with state-of-the-art technology went well, until it didn't.
I found myself in the mouth of the cave. A short search of its depths demonstrated how shallow it was. Fate had often been cruel, but this felt like an insult. I was getting tired and had to restrain a frustrated laugh. The place offered an illusion of safety but was most likely a trap, a place to get stuck and rest when I should be on the move and ready to fight.
"You had better use that stealth cloak like it was designed just for you," X-37 said.
"This isn’t a bad cave. I could live here and be happy," I grumbled. Fatigue crept into my limbs. I pushed it away by force of will. X-37 recommended I eat, but I just sipped from my water pack and focused all of my mental power on what I needed to do to get out of there.
There were three basic options. Do nothing and hope they passed by. I could creep past them when they seemed to be unaware, maximizing the effect of the stealth cloak, and get around their patrol. That didn’t mean I could find my objective, but I definitely needed to sneak past them. Or start fighting.
One of my only poor training evaluations had been that I tended to take the lazy option to get things over with quickly. Even with my short fuse, I knew there was no way to shoot my way out of this corner.
"Any advice?" I kept my voice so low, it was almost unrecognizable as human speech. For my limited artificial intelligence, however, it was understandable.
"Stay low," X-37 said.
“Easy for you to say.” Crawling slowly to avoid making any more noise than I had to, I kept every part of my body touching the rocky surface. The tactic required patience that was against my nature, especially when I was banged up and desperately anxious to learn the secrets of the tech shrine. The nearest I passed to the Union super commandos was twenty meters, but it felt like they were walking over the top of me.
Stopping frequently, I allowed X-37 to listen for
things I missed. It was difficult to turn my face upward for a decent view of the area. We had to settle for slow twists side to side.
“They think they’re close to finding you or they wouldn’t be stopped here,” X-37 observed.
I wanted to shout that they were close, but didn’t. Minutes felt like hours before I finally worked my way beyond them. Standing with difficulty, I looked back the way I’d come, barely able to believe I’d low crawled so far.
Too exhausted to run, I marched toward my objective.
26
I reached my destination during the darkest part of the night. A dome of silence encapsulated the area. None of the local wildlife made a sound. If there were insects moving about, then they were tiptoeing like thieves.
The last several hours had required more patience and stealth than I had exercised for a long time. Even my instructors from Reaper school would've been proud. Well, not extremely proud, but not totally frustrated with my impatience either.
In my defense, I'd changed since meeting Elise and Tom. Something about surviving death row had altered the way I viewed the galaxy. Life was short and I had things to do, mysteries to solve, and scores to settle.
I didn't have time for this shit. Only the fact that I was facing Union spec ops units kept me in check. Elise and the others were counting on me. I’d dragged them halfway across the galaxy and attracted the wrath of the worst killers in the Union.
These new soldiers were different. I studied their equipment as I crept closer to the perimeter they had established around the tech shrine—a tower-like structure that gleamed against the dark terrain. Of course that was what the third squad had been doing while the other two had been hunting me. I should've known they had unraveled their own clues and guessed where I would be going.
Their gear, what little I had seen of it, reminded me of Marley Callus on Dreadmax. The man had been a force of nature and claimed his kind of soldier replaced me and the other Reapers. I’d thought that was at least partially true—and now I knew he hadn’t been bragging. The Union was treating me like last week’s garbage because they had replacements for what I was.
