The Jovian Manifesto (The Formist Series Book 2)

by Matthew S Williams

  “Oh, they know we can’t have gone far,” said Houte. “Look at the way they’re periodically checking to make sure we didn’t slip away. That search pattern means they know we must still be here.”

  The tension on the bridge was so thick, the idea of moving about felt impossible. It didn’t improve when a new reticle appeared and disappeared on the display. Whatever it was, the sensors couldn’t hang onto it, but an alarm sounded just the same. It was followed by the ship shaking so hard, it nearly knocked Gallego over.

  “What was that?”

  “They’re probing the surface,” Cheboi declared. “They’re trying to break up the surface with their relativistic weapons.”

  There was another violent shake, followed by loud rumbling. On Houte’s display, the bulbous asteroid began to show new fragments. The two shots had caused large chunks of the surface to break free, sending tremors through the entire surface. The shots were confined to the upper lobe, but the next one struck at the midsection. The resulting shock was the worst yet.

  “They’re getting closer!” Houte shouted.

  Gallego cursed their luck. She had been hoping for more time. Intrinsic to the plan was the ability to deploy their improvised weapons one at a time. If they fired them all off right now, they would reveal their position. They also needed several seconds to get them close enough to the enemy ship to be effective. Their opponents, on the other hand, only needed one good shot. It would strike home in a fraction of a second, and Gallego and her colleagues would all be spaced. Instant death for Houte and Amaru, a slightly prolonged death for Gallego and Cheboi.

  A fourth hit put an end to her complaints. This one landed a few kilometers from them and was threatening to break the asteroid in half. They had just enough time for one shot, and the window was rapidly closing. Slamming her fist against the nearest bulkhead, Gallego barked the order.

  “Fuck it! Fire now, all of them!”

  No one argued. Amaru hit the command on her terminal and ordered the deployable thrusters to fire. Cheboi poised her hands over the detonation button and waited for her turn. Houte watched the display as the five small shards of rock emerged from their dust cloud and moved rapidly towards the red icon.

  The enemy ship, which was in the process of adjusting its position to take another shot, immediately noticed. The relativistic weapon fired again, taking out one of their rocks. The projectile sliced through it and impacted the asteroid’s surface, releasing new tremors. The other four closed in further, only to be cut down to three a second later. This shot landed in the southern lobe and made their situation even worse.

  “The asteroid is breaking apart!” yelled Amaru. Gallego didn’t respond. All her attention was fixed on their desperate gamble and rapidly diminishing supply of rocks.

  By the time any of them posed a collision threat to the craft, only two remained.

  “Hold!” Gallego said, needlessly. Cheboi could see their situation as clearly as she could and wasn’t about to issue the detonation command prematurely. As expected, the enemy craft began performing evasive maneuvers, trying to push itself out of the path of the rocks.

  Only two remaining, and the enemy ship was dangerously close to getting beyond detonation range. Worse yet, the terrible force was shaking their ship to the point that it felt like it might fall apart. Gallego could barely stand with the way her body was shaken from side to side.

  When one of the rocks on the display finally turned a shade of red, she issued the order.

  “Now!” she yelled.

  Cheboi’s finger depressed on the command. On the underside of the last two rocks, spaced around the deployable thrusters attached to their surface, a series of torpedoes detonated. Fuel and munitions exploded at once, sending a hail of rocky shards outward. It was like watching a fragmentation grenade explode in one direction. Everything in its path was destined to be shredded.

  The enemy ship, though composed of extremely durable materials, was struck by so many objects, so suddenly, it couldn’t adjust in time. Its hull ablated as the accelerated chunks tore into it and ripped nanoalloy skin aside, exposing sections of the interior to space.

  Gallego bellowed triumphantly. She barely heard herself over the roaring and sirens that were consuming the ship. Amaru yelled something too, barely audible.

  “We’re out of time! Taking off!”

  Gallego was thrown backwards as the vertical thrust pressed down on her. Luckily, she landed square in the acceleration couch and was instantly embraced by it. The ship leaped from the asteroid’s rapidly rupturing surface and pushed through the concealing cloud that had been protecting them. Several more thuds sounded as the ship sped through everything in its way to get back into space.

  As soon as they were clear, the enemy ship was visible through the front porthole, or what was left of it. Temporarily crippled, the vessel was adrift and floating slowly to their right. They had just enough room to push past it and collided with only small bits of debris.

  Once they were past, Amaru brought them about to finish the job.

  “We’ve only got two torpedoes left,” Cheboi reminded them. “This better work.”

  Even at their current range, a sensor lock would have been preferable. Unfortunately, their sensors still weren’t not getting a perfect fix on the stealth vessel. This time around, it was bits of nanometal causing the interference. This shot would have to be programmed in by hand.

  Correcting for the vessel’s drift, Cheboi established a parabolic intercept course and fired. The torpedoes flew from the ship’s internal bay and quickly became two blue dots against a silvery background. In seconds, they struck the enemy midship, sending chunks of molten nanometal in all directions. Secondary explosions followed, indicating the complete destruction of the enemy ship.

  This time, the crew waited for a few seconds before shouting happily. Now that it was over, it hardly seemed real. It was several moments before someone finally said anything intelligible.

  “Setting a course for Callisto,” said Amaru. “If anybody feels like napping, now would be a good time.”

  Gallego unleashed a sigh that was her heaviest in recent memory. Her head slumped over, and her eyes felt like they might seal shut at any moment. She wasn’t the only one. At every station, everyone looked like they could sleep for a million years.

  It was a good thing the ship had an autopilot program.

  FORTY-SEVEN

  THEIR QUARTET WAS ONCE again back to a sextet. The setting wasn’t quite so on the nose this time, though Gallego suspected it served a symbolic purpose. They were standing on a stony stretch of shore overlooking an open sea, some gently rising slopes behind them. There were no features on the horizon that would indicate where they were standing. Just south of them, there was an inlet overlooked by a small town.

  Pinter, standing barefoot in the water, had been looking out at the water and nodding happily since they had arrived. No one had disturbed him for several minutes, looking as he did like a proud father watching his kids at play. Finally, someone spoke up.

  “All right Pinter, I’ll bite,” said Houte. “Where are we this time?”

  Pinter put his hands against his hips and chuckled softly. “It’s every bit as beautiful as I remember. Even if this was a time when the natural environment was in decline and people were worried about the declining shellfish stocks.”

  Clio walked to his side and placed her hand on his arm. “Pinter, people would like to know what place you’ve chosen for our latest meeting.”

  “Oh, sorry!” he said, turning about and sloshing in the water. “It’s not important, just a place from my youth. I spent many years in Western Europe back in the day. This place I remember because for thousands of years, the inhabitants thought it was the very edge of the world. It was, to them. I always loved the way the horizon made you feel like they were right.”

  He looked back over his shoulder. In the far distance, there was a weather front moving in, heavy grey clouds that looked
like an encroaching wall. Gallego was reminded of a recent, unpleasant dream, but felt no trepidation. Aside from the natural beauty it held, the rains were also creating a lovely rainbow in the distance.

  The symbolism was perfect. Houte and Amaru had told her to expect as much.

  “In any case,” Pinter continued, “this seemed like as good a place as any to say goodbye.”

  “We understand,” Amaru replied. “With everything happening out there, we’ll need to lie low for a bit and you won’t be able to contact us. You don’t need to say anything, we know we’ll see you again someday.”

  Pinter grimaced. He looked at Constance, who still beamed happily, despite the awkwardness of the moment. Gallego instantly knew what they were about to say. So, did Houte, for that matter, and he had something to say about it.

  “Wait a minute. Connie, you’re not coming either?”

  “My place is here, brother,” she said, her voice as thin as a whisper. “My people need me. A lot of them risked their lives to help us and ensure that we had all we needed to get this far. They’ll need my guidance for what’s coming.”

  Gallego’s mind seized onto these last few cryptic words. Houte wasn’t done protesting yet.

  “I’ve already left you behind once, and you want me to do it again? Who’s going to watch after you while we’re off hiding somewhere?’

  “I will,” Pinter replied. “More specifically, we intend to look after each other. Your sister is very safe Franklin, in this world or yours.”

  “She’s barely -!”

  Houte’s voice seized on the verge of saying something insulting. Neither Gallego nor Cheboi understood, but Amaru certainly did. It was she who stepped in to offer an explanation.

  “I think what Franklin is trying to say is, Constance’s physical being requires a degree of support. As long as she’s tethered to her flesh and blood body, she could be vulnerable.”

  Clio smiled benevolently. “Janis, you don’t need to worry. I’m more capable than you suspect, and I’m aware of my surroundings. And you, brother...” she said pointedly at Houte. “You’ve already done a good job making sure that the machinery that sustains me is sufficient.”

  Houte shook his head. “What about the mess we left behind? What if someone finds out you were involved in all that? If the Constabulary comes knocking, or worse, how do you plant to deal with that?”

  Clio showed no sign of reaction. It was Pinter who looked surprised by the question. He gently reminded Houte of what became of the last people who tried to harm them.

  “Four very heavily armed men tried to do the four of you incredible harm, and Constance was able to neutralize them with barely a thought. If someone should try to corner your sister in her home, I imagine the results will be far worse... for them!”

  “Franklin,” Clio said, suddenly emphatic. “It’s time you let me go. I’m not the naive little girl who left home long ago and disappeared. I’m not even the poor, pitiful being you yanked out of a facility on Luna and had to take care of. I’m a big girl now, and I can take care of myself.” She looked to Pinter, linking her arm around his. “Besides, I won’t be alone.”

  Houte’s face became a torrent of emotions. His eyes welled with tears and his face twisted into a bitter expression. Gallego understood what he was thinking, and she sympathized. On one hand, he didn’t want to leave the one he loved and was angered that she had found a sense of belonging with someone else. On the other, he knew he should be happy for her.

  Eventually, the water in his eyes reached critical mass and a tear ran down his cheek. He could find no words to say, and just stood there, his eyes on the waves. Letting Pinter go, Constance came to him and wrapped her arms around his head. She whispered soft words of consolation in his ear as he sniffled and cried quietly.

  “I know this is difficult, for all of you,” Pinter said. “But we’ve come through one crisis only to enter into another. Auriga and Emile’s latest attempts to bury the truth have failed. With their agents out of the way, we can now focus on what happens next.”

  Gallego was glad to hear this. There had been little time to discuss their next moves before and she wanted to address what Clio had hinted at earlier.

  “You said that something was coming. Could you tell us what?’

  Constance released Houte and looked at her sternly. It had to be bad, given that it was enough to cause her representation to lose the beautiful smile. Her voice also took on a grave tone. “While you were away, we intercepted news from Ganymede. The trial against the five accused citizens wrapped up, and the death sentence was carried out.”

  This was met by angry and sad murmurs from their group. Gallego, for her part, placed her hand to her forehead. They had anticipated as much, but she had been hoping their encounter on Europa might have made a difference. She couldn’t rationalize how the discovery of a bunch of dead Extropian mercenaries would affect the outcome of the trial. Perhaps their existence, coupled with the fact that they had died in a fight like the ones on Titan and in Selket, might convince the Council to postpone the trial or the sentencing.

  After everything else they had witnessed, had it been too much to hope for?

  “It gets worse,” Pinter added. “In the wake of the execution, there have been rumors that some splinter cells are forming within the Aquiline and CoJ movements. Our appeal for peace and sanity had the desired effect, but we don’t anticipate it will last indefinitely.”

  He didn’t need to explain what this meant. If either movement was faced with a splinter faction, one that was prepared to take matters into its own hands, then the outcome would be obvious. There would be blood, and the authorities would respond with even greater repressive measures. Caught between their own ranks and a hostile government looking to stamp them out, the Aquilines and CoJ leadership would either abandon their commitment to keeping the peace, or risk being overthrown.

  “So, it was all for nothing?” Cheboi ventured. “Civil war, intervention, all of the things we were trying to prevent, it’s still going to happen?”

  “Not necessarily,” said Pinter, raising a finger. “There’s still time to keep the worst from happening. And in the meantime, my grandson and his allies won’t be able to intervene again and make things worse.”

  “How can you be sure?”

  Pinter looked to Constance. “Doctor Lee’s files, the ones which prove that he and Emile conspired to depopulate Callisto and Titan... we’ve sent them directly to the Solar Council. Now that he and Auriga are at odds and have played their available cards, there’s nothing they can do about it. When the Council sees the information, they’ll arrest them and begin mounting a thorough investigation.”

  This latest bit of news improved the mood of the group substantially. Murmurs of dismay became sighs of relief and exclamations. Amaru was the one to ask the obvious: “Doesn’t that mean we’ve heard the last of him?”

  “No, not that either,” Pinter replied. “While my grandson could be called many things, fatalistic wouldn’t be one of them. He’s resourceful and crafty, and he still has allies. He’ll do what he has to survive and could become a threat again before long. Hopefully by then, it will be too late.”

  Gallego ran it all through her mind. Eventually, she came to an inevitable conclusion and she didn’t like it. It was as flat as it was undeniable. “You have no idea what to do now. Not like before, where you had all the moves calculated out in advance. You’ve got absolutely no plans.”

  Clio and Pinter looked at each other. Both shrugged.

  “No. We’ve got plenty of thoughts, ideas, and some possible outcomes,” said Pinter. “But right now, we simply don’t know how things will play out.”

  “I take it that’s another reason you want us to find some place to lie low.” It was Houte saying this, speaking for the first time since his emotional display. “You need us safe while the two of you come up with a plan, is that it?”

  Another shrug. “Essentially... yes.”

&n
bsp; Gallego expected Houte to get angry again, or at least show some general signs of dismay. To her surprise, he responded agreeably.

  “I suppose I understand. We need to stake stock of our supplies and are probably going to need to call in some favors. That will take time.”

  Pinter looked relieved. Constance smiled at Houte proudly. She embraced him again, and this time he responded by embracing her tightly. More soft words passed between them, and Gallego took the opportunity to offer her own thoughts.

  “If anyone is looking for a suggestion, I know a place where we could go. I’ve established some lucrative ties with the Gyros over the years, and I know some people who would happily take us in, knowing they were keeping us safe from the Formists.”

  “Exploiting factional politics?” said Pinter, nodding approvingly.

  “What about Councilor Elenko?” Cheboi asked. “Do we attempt to contact her?”

  Gallego thought that one over. There were security concerns to think about, but she had to let her old mentor know that she and Cheboi were still alive. She also wanted to take the opportunity to give Elenko some well-deserved shit for the role she’d played in their many near-death experiences.

  “Yes. We must report in. But not until we’re sure we can reach her without anyone else getting wind of it. For all we know, Emile and Auriga’s friends could be within the Cytherean Council itself.”

  “Good idea,” Cheboi agreed. “I’m sure once we’re settled, she’ll be able to find a way to send us some discreet help.”

  Gallego smiled. The thought of returning to O’Neil’s Reach was a pleasant one. Its many wonders, some of which she’d had a hand in building, were something she missed. Circumstances permitting, she might even find a way to drop in on Burhan. There was the little matter of their breakup; but more importantly, he would also want to know that she was alive.

  “So... I guess this is goodbye,” Amaru said at last. Stepping forward, she took Pinter’s hand and shook it heartily. Constance moved to embrace her next, and the two shared a long, gentle hug. When they separated, she too had some tears in her eyes.