Chaos Tactics (The Reckless Chronicles Book 1)

by Trent Falls

  John set his rifle down on one of the chairs embedded into the side of the cargo area as he regained full gravity.

  In a few steps he wrapped his arms around Julie. He held her with all the love a father could have for a daughter. She hugged him back in kind. Julie began to cry, burying her head in John’s chest. John pressed his face into Julie’s right shoulder, fighting back his own tears. He held on to her as tightly as he could, knowing that she was real and that she was safe again. An incredible sense of relief fell over him. His heart was bursting with joy.

  Aiyana and Alex stood quietly a few feet away, allowing that small family the privacy of a happy reunion. Aside from a few muffled sobs from John and Julie the large cargo bay was still and quiet.

  “I’m so sorry, sweetie.” John spoke, his words muffled into her shoulder as he hugged her tightly. “I’m sorry I let them take you. I’m sorry!”

  Julie broke down further. Her thin fingers grasped at the back of John’s black shirt. She needed to hold on to him to believe he was real. She was overwhelmed. Being kidnapped and imprisoned for weeks. Dekker’s torture and death. Finally she was safe. Her uncle, her guardian in more than a legal sense, had rescued her.

  John simply held on to her, letting her cry it out. “It’s okay.” He whispered as he rubbed her back. “You’re safe. We’re going home.”

  “They killed him.” Julie blurted out the words in her sobs.

  John held on to her, with her face pressed sideways at his chest as she cried, unsure of what Julie meant.

  “They killed him!!!” she cried again hysterically.

  “Who, honey?” John pulled her back to look at her face.

  Julie’s blue eyes and tear streaked face remained hidden by her straight matted locks of blonde hair.

  “Who did they kill?” John asked in an even tone. It was a tone he remembered using as a marshal when questioning a hysterical witness after a crime.

  Julie fought to get the words out through her sobs. “Max…. Max Dekker.” She broke down again, falling into John’s arms.

  Max Dekker. He had been held captive on the planet and John hadn’t even known it. He simply stared ahead blankly for a few seconds before returning to reality.

  “It’s okay now, sweetie! I’m sorry!” John held on to her reassuringly. He rubbed her back again, pulling her away so she could stand on her own.

  Julie seemed to settle down, even though she was still crying through several breaths. She was slowly regaining her composure as best she could.

  “Why would they keep Max Dekker there?” John wondered aloud.

  “They were… trying to get some information out of him.” Julie replied, crying within a few of the syllables. “They used some kind of mind reading device I think. They said… they got the information they were… looking for out of him.”

  John’s expression became chillingly serious. His eyes turned to look at Alex. Alex silently looked back, visibly having a good idea of what that information was.

  John shrugged off the thought of Dekker’s death, even if he knew it was significant. He turned his attention again to his niece Julie; his adoptive daughter. He patted her on the shoulder and gently guided her to one of the seats at the side of the cargo bay.

  “Come on.” John spoke to her in a low comforting voice. “Let’s see if we can get you cleaned up a little.”

  Julie sat down in the chair. As she sat she looked over to her right shoulder. Her blue top was covered on her right shoulder with smears of black and green paint. She glanced at the paint in some confusion, which interrupted her sobbing, then looked up at her uncle John. She realized the source of the stain; John’s smeared camouflage face paint. Though much of the paint was still on John’s face Julie could see the right side of his face where it had rubbed off.

  Thought the face paint still made John look somewhat demonic, Julie looked up and saw through the black and green to see her beloved uncle. She smiled, and found herself laughing, at the sight of the camouflage paint on her shoulder and on his face.

  “Oh… sorry.” John grinned down on her.

  Julie, still laughing and crying simultaneously, smiled. “It’s okay.” She replied.

  John turned around to look at Alex. “Alex, do we have any… thing she can clean up with?”

  “Yeah.” Alex sprang into motion, turning to walk up towards the front of the ship. “I’ll get some water and towels. I think there’s a bit of soap in the lavatory.”

  Alex walked away to get the cleaning items.

  John watched Alex leave and turned his head back towards Julie. “I’ll be right back sweetie, okay?”

  “Yeah.” Julie nodded. She was finally calming back down to normal. “Yeah, I’m good.”

  John walked away to follow Alex, leaving Ana standing alone in the hangar with Julie. Ana looked down quietly at Julie, not knowing what to say. Ana simply kept her mouth shut.

  “Thank you.” Julie looked up at Ana. As Ana met her gaze Julie’s expression turned to one of warm appreciation.

  “Thank you?” Ana was caught off guard.

  “For saving my uncle. Thank you!” Julie repeated with equal warmth.

  Aiyana found herself genuinely smiling back down on Jules. She was a beautiful girl. Ana could see the family resemblance to John in her face.

  “Don’t mention it.” Ana grinned back to the teenage girl. “Hell, it’s like old times,” Ana turned away smirking, “me getting your uncle out of trouble.”

  “Well I appreciate it.” Julie replied to her sincerely. “Really, words can’t describe. Thank you!”

  Ana looked down on Julie for a few seconds. Ana could immediately get a sense that Julie was a good kid. “You’re welcome.” Ana replied with equal warmth and sincerity.

  John found Alex within his small quarters. The “stateroom” was little more than an eight foot by ten foot room. A single mattress rack was set at the far end of the room. A bookshelf was build into the bulkhead at the top of the bed. A small monitor was fixed to the side of the wall on a short articulating arm; the kind one might find on a personal hospital television. The lavatory was a five by five compartment adjoining the stateroom, with a standup shower, a toilet, and a sink and storage module that could be lowered down from the ceiling.

  “If they probed Dekker’s mind and got the information they were looking for then they likely know where the watchtower is.” John spoke to Alex.

  Alex had been looking for a clean towel and had only listened to John indirectly. Alex’s eyes shot forward with John’s words. He immediately turned to face John; dumbfounded.

  “You weren’t supposed to remember that.” Alex stared through John. “You weren’t supposed to remember any of that!”

  “Alex.” John grew audibly frustrated. “I don’t know what you did to stitch m mind back together. One minute I’ll remember that you’re some… alien from outer space and the other….”

  “Keep your voice down!” Alex ordered in as loud a tone as he would dare.

  “Alex…. If you’ve been inside my head you know I don’t give a damn what you are.” John noted seriously. “I don’t give a damn about the watchtower and I don’t give a damn about the Norn! All I care about is getting Julie home safe.”

  Alex stared at his long-time friend for a while, eventually nodding his head in agreement. “I know.” Alex nodded. “Still, you have no idea how dangerous this knowledge is. You knowing is bad enough. I mean… we’re really going to have to dig into your head to see if we can keep that information suppressed. The Norn don’t want humans knowing of their existence. Enough damage has been done by letting you out of the confinement of your own planet.”

  “I didn’t ask for this, Alex!” John argued. “WE didn’t ask for this! Julie doesn’t know who you are and I’m sure she doesn’t care!”

  “If Euler knows then you and all of humanity could be in for more trouble than you imagine.” Alex warned. “If he finds the watchtower he’ll be destroyed. And the Norn mig
ht not stop with him and his Xen friends.”

  “You do what you have to do with me. I don’t care as long as Julie gets home safe and sound.” John argued in a hushed tone.

  “It’s not that easy, John.” Alex replied. “We’re going to have to go and stop Euler before he finds the tower.”

  John stared at Alex for a while, not hiding his sense of disbelief. “No! No way!”

  “John. I can’t stress the potential consequences.” Alex noted gravely.

  “NO! I didn’t come out here to stop him! I just came to get my girl and go home! Euler’s teamed up with the Xen! I have maybe thirty rounds left for my guns. No! No way can I go up against him!”

  “We wouldn’t have to fight them.” Alex explained. “All we need to do is get to the Watchtower before him. That’s our only chance.”

  “Alex! I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. I couldn’t have done this without you. All the same, I just want to take Julie home. I can’t go back out there with her along.”

  Alex took a deep breath.

  “I’m going to have to go back out.” Alex replied seriously. “There’s no other choice.”

  John sighed in his own frustration. “Look, I don’t want to seem ungrateful, but isn’t there anyone else who can help?”

  “Perhaps.” Alex answered. “This is about pleading humanity’s case. It’s better if a human does this in person.”

  “If I remember right,” John paused, raising his eyebrows as he silently questioned his own sanity, “the Norn have debated humanity’s future for a very long time already.”

  “Yes, since your war, actually.” Alex replied.

  “What’s a few more days going to do? Euler also doesn’t know what we know, right?” John argued.

  “I suppose, yes.” Alex responded. He sighed again, visible in his agreement with John. “Yes, I suppose I could contact Bradley or Ramirez and see what they can do. To prepare them at least.”

  “They’re still alive?” John was suddenly taken aback by Alex’s claim.

  Alex stared at John for a moment. He wondered how much John could truly remember. “John. They’re still on The Companion; the planet where the tower is located.” Alex noted, as though John should have known that information.

  John stared at Alex for a while. His thoughts were still somewhat chaotic. He could remember finer details from the last time he was at the Watchtower, but as soon as some details were remembered they were just as quickly forgotten. He knew Alex was one of the Norn. A minute later he was certain Alex was human, which was also accurate.

  “Can you get us to New Australia quickly?” John finally asked Alex. “We can sort out what we’ll do by then but I need to make sure Julie is safe.”

  Alex sighed. “Okay, but I need to get a hold of Bradley or Ramirez. They need to be warned.”

  “Okay, so…. How do you do that? Do you have some kind of telepathic link with them or something?”

  Alex stared at John for a moment, looking at him as though he were crazy. “No,” Alex answered plainly, “I’m going to use the radio.”

  John blinked. “Oh.”

  “You’re Aiyana, right?” Julie ventured to ask the dark haired brunette in the black flight suit standing a few feet away.

  Ana was caught off guard by the question. She was thinking of her next step when Julie spoke. “Huh? Oh yeah.” Ana answered. “Aiyana Rodriguez. I worked with your uncle for a while on New Australia.”

  “You were his girlfriend for six years.” Julie corrected her. “I remember him saying you lived together for a while.”

  “Yeah.” Ana was suddenly a bit uncomfortable at Julie digging into her history. “That’s right. We were… a couple.”

  “He still talks about you.” Julie noted plainly. “Now and then… you know.”

  “What your uncle and I had together is ancient history, Julie.” Ana noted, her defensiveness a bit more evident in her tone.

  “Sorry.” Julie responded, sensing that she had touched a nerve. “He never told me… that he left you to take care of me. I just kind of… put it together on my own over the years. I’m… sorry if I took him away from you.”

  Ana again looked at Julie, this time with a softer expression. “It’s okay Julie.” Ana’s tone lightened as well. “It’s not your fault. Sometimes, you know, there are no ‘right’ decisions. You needed him more than I did, I guess.” Ana looked away again. “Jesus, I should shut up.”

  “No, it’s okay.” Julie smiled warmly up at Ana. “I like that you’re honest. You know, I always hoped I’d meet you someday.”

  “Really?” Ana was genuinely surprised.

  “Yeah.” Julie smiled again. “John mentioned your name here and there. Not in like… a creepy way, you know. I think he still cares about you but… you know.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get it.”

  “I think he still kept track of you. I remember, at least, him mentioning out loud when he read of you going to Martian Steel in the Internet one morning.”

  “John reads the business section?” Ana smirked.

  “Yeah, he reads a lot about what happens in the colonies anyway.” Julie answered. “I think he really missed being out there.”

  At that moment John emerged from the corridor at the front of the ship into the cargo area. He was carrying a towel.

  Ana and Julie ceased their girl talk.

  “Alex said you can use his shower if you’d like.” John spoke to Julie as he approached. “It’s small and you can’t run the water for long but it’s something.”

  “Thanks.” Julie accepted the towels.

  “So, what happens next?” Ana asked John.

  “We’re going to New Australia.” John explained. “We need to secure passage to Earth, like I mentioned before.”

  “Why do we need to secure passage to Earth?” Julie asked. “Why don’t we just go there directly?”

  “It’s complicated.” John answered simply, turning his attention again to Ana. “You can head back to Mars any time you’d like.”

  “In a bit.” Ana replied. “I’m a bit worried going back, honestly, after being gone for three days.”

  “You’re COO of Martian Steel. You can say whatever you’d like.” John quipped.

  “It may not be that easy.” Ana added. “I’ll detach in a little bit if that’s okay. Maybe after Julie cleans up.”

  “I can wait if you’d like.” Julie said.

  “No, it’s okay. I need to take a break for a second.” Ana replied, looking over to John. “Unless you guys are going to warp already?”

  “I don’t think we are.” John replied. He turned to look at his niece. “You should go clean up, Jules. It’ll help you feel a little better.”

  “Okay.” Julie nodded. She carried her towel away from her body as she moved towards the front of the ship.

  Ana watched Julie walk away, waiting until she felt Julie was out of earshot before speaking. “She’s a good kid.” Aiyana observed.

  “She is.” John moved towards the seats on the far side of the cargo bay. “She’s her mother’s daughter.”

  Aiyana watched Julie walk into the corridor leading into the front of the ship and vanish from sight. Ana kept her eyes on the corridor passage even though Julie was no longer there. When John had left New Australia he had asked Aiyana to come with him. For a moment she had given the idea some thought. As she saw Julie she wondered what kind of life she might have had. She would have been a surrogate mother to this girl. Would she have been proud of her at that moment rather than simply admiring the girl’s spirit and intelligence? How would Julie have turned out? What would it have been like to have Julie as a daughter? What would it have been like for Ana to have her own daughter? In the end Ana turned away. These would be questions she would never see answered. It was pointless to think about it. Ana turned back around to look at John.

  John had fallen fast asleep on the chairs at the side of the cargo bay.

  Chapter 19

/>   Sixteen years prior.

  New Australia still had dirt roads. A few real structures had been erected on Main Street between the modular containers that were the typical shelters of the new city. The temporary metal shelters were elongated hexagonal shipping containers. Standard units were 3 meters wide by 3 meters tall and about 14 meters long. An add-on power module and air conditioning unit had been attached to the top of all livable units. Some functioned as food stations. One red module was a pharmacy, marked with a white CVS logo on its angled side. The red pharmacy module was set next to a white medical module that was in excellent condition; with a red cross painted on its side. On the opposite side of the street was a modified container module parked lengthwise. Part of the lower panel was folded down with a set or metal steps set along its length. The upper part of the elongated hex panel was raised and propped up on mounting arms as a large awning. Small white LED lights were set into the underside of the awning, glowing bright white in the early morning light. Beneath the awning was a long serving bar. Typically the bar served people water, regular drinks, or easy to prepare food. They also served alcohol after 2 PM local, which was a new practice at the time. At 7 AM the Red Rocket Bistro, as it was called, was busy serving up breakfast to a few of the local workers preparing to go out on a field project. Their dirty yellow six-wheeled all-terrain utility truck was parked in front of the open air lunch counter. Tools like surveying station computers, hammer drills, and laser welders were piled into the back of the dingy yellow ATV. The workers, most standing at the bar or out front on the stoop, devoured egg sandwiches and coffee.

  John Carn sat in the open-air section of another restaurant across the street. The restaurant was called Carolina’s. It usually didn’t open up until lunchtime. Carolina’s had a decent enclosed restaurant as well. They tended to serve the growing white-collar workers on New Australia and a lot of the travelers from the nearby spaceport.

  John was twenty seven. He was a Deputy Marshal for the Earth Expeditionary Force. Although the title was typical of someone in true law enforcement the Colony Marshal program was actually an offshoot of the EEF; the military. John had been assigned to New Australia for three years at the time. He was a pretty seasoned peacekeeper. Like all EEF Marshals of the era John still wore the typical BDU’s of a Colonial Marine. To avoid confusion his typical rank chevrons noting John as a sergeant were gone, instead replaced with sleeve markings and a badge noting him as a Marshal.