by J. N. Chaney
Aaron and his father took one hover bike, while Farah and I took the other. We left the scene of death and destruction behind. On the bike’s passenger seat, I twisted around to watch the black clouds of smoke rising up from the ruined metal corpses of the machines.
When we were far enough away, I detonated the strategically placed explosive inside the house and watched Kaska’s residence go up in flames with no small amount of satisfaction.
24
The hover bikes were built for Sarkon’s climate and drew most of their power from solar energy. We pushed them to the max, depleting the power faster than it could be replaced. They lasted just over halfway to the pickup location, then we had to let them recharge.
Since Mack was no longer overhead, she had to tap into Sarkon’s defense network to see what the palace deployed forced were doing.
Our ruse with the house didn’t keep them occupied long, but we had a decent head start. More land ships—vessels that could fly but weren’t space worthy—joined the search. They didn’t appear to know exactly which direction we’d gone and were attempting to locate us via a blanket search.
It was a smart tactic. The land ships were much faster than the hover bikes and they closed the gap more with each passing minute. When they caught up to us—and it was a matter of when, not if—our only hope was to find another cave or rock formation and hide.
With Farah in the driver’s seat and Mack and Vega checking the skies, I had a little time to think. This wasn’t necessarily a good thing. I replayed my interactions with Calliope, if that was even her real name, and tried to decipher every word and gesture.
Some of it was painfully obvious. Things I had noticed at the time but dismissed as my own paranoia. Like her excuse for leaving the Union. It had been flimsy at best and far too similar to my and Farah’s background to be coincidental. And we’d just eaten it up, I thought with disgust.
It was the smaller lies that, despite my best efforts, impressed me most. Calliope had played the young, naive soldier perfectly. Guiding conversations with barely noticeable facial expressions and specific lines of questioning dressed up as innocent curiosity. All that crap about the maius bonum.
The girl had lived with us for weeks and I had just ignored my gut. It was clear to me that whoever she was, whatever she turned out to be, it wouldn’t be basic infantry. I had a feeling I knew exactly what group she belonged to.
Worst of all, I felt like a fool. No, that wasn’t true. If I was being honest, the worst part was that I’d believed her to be a friend. I’d trusted her, mentored her, even shown—
It was still daytime, and the temperature soared above 32 degrees Celsius, but that didn’t stop the cold finger of dread that suddenly filled me. “Oh no.”
“What is it?” Farah asked sharply. “Did you see something?”
“No, but I remembered something. Calliope knows the location of Safe Haven.”
“Oh no,” she echoed.
“And we can’t do a damn thing about it,” I added.
There wasn’t time to dwell on it because Mack informed us that one of the ships now looked to be headed in our direction.
The landscape provided a few options for hiding, none of them very good. With no nearby caves and only two camo sheets between the four of us, all we could do was find a decent sized outcropping for refuge.
I spotted the land ship in question, a small black spot in the clear sky, its roaring engine scattering wildlife from their sleeping places. We parked the bikes just under it and draped the camo sheets over them, crouching down to stay out of view.
The sound grew louder until it reverberated in my chest and I had to clap my hands to my ears. The pilot checked the area twice before continuing on.
“That was close,” Tyndell commented as we climbed back on the bikes.
“Seems to be the thing today,” I replied. “At least it can’t get much worse.”
The bikes died three kilometers from the rendezvous point in a part of the desert that was so bare it didn’t even have sand, just the flat expanse of a long dried out ravine. There wasn’t time to charge them again, nor did anyone like the idea of hanging out in an area devoid of cover.
It was a miserable hike. The only plus side being that our packs were light since the mission had consumed nearly everything we had brought. Of course, that also meant we were traversing deadly terrain with no food or water and a limited amount of medical supplies.
I was down to a few extra magazines, one grenade, and a combat knife. The others fared just about the same and we held no illusions about our current predicament. My crew couldn’t take much more, if anything at all.
But the day wasn’t done with us yet. In hindsight, I wished I had kept my big, stupid mouth shut because, apparently, things could get much worse.
I heard the rumble in the distance before Mack even said anything.
“There’s nothing out here,” I told her.
“I’ll be there in 20 minutes, just hold on that long,” she replied, desperation making her voice thick.
I cast a glance at the others. “We have the two camo sheets. It’s possible we could—”
“Don’t even say it,” Farah ordered. Her whole body was tense, and her eyes went stormy.
“It was worth a try,” I said, trying to sound light, but she didn’t smile. I sighed. “Do what you can, Mack. We’ll fight as long as we can.”
Aaron spun in a slow circle, checking our surroundings. I assumed for any kind of high ground, but there was nothing he could make it to before the patrol arrived.
“I can set up here,” he said, looking more than a little glum. “Maybe take a few of them out and buy some time.”
We both knew it wouldn’t work. He might get one shot before they spotted and killed him.
“No,” said Tyndell. “We stand together.”
And so we did.
There was nothing else to say as we waited. Four soldiers—tired, thirsty, and more than a little dirty but not done just yet. We stood side by side, not at attention, but proud.
When the land ship touched down, that was what they saw. The ramp lowered and I almost had to laugh when Kaska strolled down it.
His eyes had the smug glint of someone who knew they’d won, and he smirked at the sight of us. Two dozen soldiers flanked him with rifles at the ready.
The Vice-Admiral’s gaze hardened at the sight of Tyndell. “Colonel. I must say it is most disappointing to learn of your treason. To not only ally yourself with such a group, but drag your son into it? It is reprehensible.”
When Tyndell didn’t acknowledge that, Kaska moved on and turned his attention to me. “Sergeant. We both know that you couldn’t keep running forever. Tell you what. As a favor to your father, I’ll do my best to get you life in solitary instead of death.”
He waited for a response, no doubt thinking his mention of my father would get a rise out of me. Following Tyndell’s lead, I said nothing.
“I guess no one feels like talking,” he sneered, trying to cover up his embarrassment. “It doesn’t matter. With you out of the way, I’m going to crush the rebellion under my foot like the lowliest insect.”
A few of the soldiers shifted uncomfortably behind Kaska and some exchanged confused glances. The more he spoke, the more his true colors showed through. His taunting of a clearly outnumbered group was distasteful and lacked honor. Even if we died here and now, at least these soldiers were witness to the man’s actions.
Disgusted, Kaska waved a hand at us. “Arrest these—”
Something very large and sporting wings dropped out of the sky and landed between our two groups, sending up a cloud of dust that obscured my view of it.
Not it, him, I realized when a man emerged wearing a jump rig. A familiar man. I grinned. We were still terribly outnumbered, but our odds had just vastly improved.
The Vice-Admiral’s brows knitted together as he studied Jax in utter confusion. “What are you doing here? I didn’t call for the Voi
d.”
“I’m not here for you.” Jax jerked a thumb over his shoulder at us. “I’m here for them.”
Kaska’s mouth opened and closed several times as though he couldn’t comprehend what was happening. Finally, he got himself under control and snarled, “I order you to arrest these traitors!”
Jax laughed, a deep, mocking rumble that no one present would mistake for humor. He leaned forward menacingly. “You know exactly what I’m capable of. The choice is simple. Let them go or die in this shithole.”
The Vice-Admiral backed away until he’d put a few of his men in front of him. “Open fire! This man just threatened your Vice-Admiral!”
What came next happened in a blur as several things occurred at the same time.
As soon as the order left his mouth, Kaska tried to escape to the land ship. I thought about going after him, but the soldiers blocked the way. Instead, I and the rest of my crew prepared for a firefight.
A few brave souls followed their superior officer’s orders and took aim at the Void operative. I assumed they had either never dealt with one before or were very stupid. It didn’t really matter though, as they died quickly.
Chaos ensued after that as all two dozen soldiers opened fire on Jax. This quickly became a problem. He moved too fast for them to keep up and bullets flew in every direction. There wasn’t anywhere to take cover and friendly fire claimed a handful of Kaska’s men before the roar of another approaching ship gave everyone pause.
I scanned the skies, expecting to see the Genesis, but it wasn’t her. It was the Harkness.
“Heard you might be in need of assistance,” Captain Ellis said in my ear.
“You heard right,” I told her.
I missed her landing because the sight of Farah kneeling over someone on the ground caught my eye. The elder Tyndell was on his knees opposite her, a look of anguish contorting his features.
Farah dug through her medic kit and came up with a package of clotting powder. Her blood slick hands couldn’t get it open and I ran to help. Aaron lay between them, face slack, his eyes staring at nothing.
I knew there wasn’t anything we could do for him, but I ripped the package open anyway and handed it to Farah. She emptied the contents onto his bare torso where the rounds had gone in. The amount of blood on her hands and his body prevented the powder from doing much more than turn into a red goop.
Aaron’s chest hadn’t moved since I’d laid eyes on him and I put a hand on Farah’s shoulder. She looked up at me with a tear streaked face. I shook my head gently. Letting out a sob, my friend sat back on her heels and covered her face with the inside of one elbow, the only part not covered in his blood.
The lieutenant just stared at his son, shock numbing him to the reality of what had just happened. I wanted to reach out, offer some comfort in this moment of tragedy, but couldn’t find the words.
The arrival of the Harkness turned the tables. Now Kaska was the one badly outnumbered. I half expected Tyndell to do something drastic when the Vice-Admiral passed him, but he didn’t leave Aaron’s side.
We let Kaska take the land ship and go, making sure our message was heard. The Solaris Initiative didn’t want bloodshed, but they would protect their own and stand for the innocent.
Aaron was the only casualty on our side, but a handful of Sarkonian dead were carried aboard their ship so they could receive a proper burial.
Captain Ellis kept her ship and crew with us until Mack arrived. When she asked the lieutenant what his plans were, he turned to me. I read the grief there, felt it deeply with him.
“I have to take him to his mother.” His voice cracked and tears welled again in already red rimmed eyes.
I nodded in silent understanding. Tyndell turned and walked up the ramp without another word. I watched him go and wondered if he would ever recover.
25
The bridge aboard the Genesis was eerily quiet despite the fact that four people occupied it. We had made it off Sarkon, but at a terrible price.
We didn’t talk about it though. I knew that Farah wrestled with what she viewed as her failure to save him. When I told her that his wounds would have been mortal no matter what she did, it fell on deaf ears.
Someone had gotten a lucky shot off and damaged Jax’s cybernetic arm. Mack said she could fix it, prompting him to join us. At present, we were headed to Safe Haven. I didn’t hold out much hope that we would receive good news there.
“Captain,” Vega said, breaking the silence.
“Yeah, V?”
“I believe I may have found something for your ‘side project,’” she said, putting a slight emphasis on the last two words.
“What side project?” Farah asked curiously.
Smooth move, V, I thought to myself.
My “side project” was supposed to be a secret, hence my telling Vega to call it a side project instead of “Operation Take the Ship Apart in Search of Calliope’s Evidence.” I had a working theory that she must have snuck something onto the ship in order to report back to the Union, possibly multiple somethings.
I had a hunch that she may have left something behind, but so far nothing had turned up. When everyone else was asleep, I turned her quarters upside down, even going so far as to search the lining of her clothes.
“It’s nothing,” I said quickly.
“Right,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Very convincing.”
“Remind me later, V.” I tried not to sound surly, but the computer needed a serious lesson in how not to be conspicuous.
Or maybe she didn’t. Teaching an artificial intelligence how to be better at lying—yeah, that seemed like one of my worse ideas.
“Of course, Captain,” she replied cheerfully.
Mack’s data pad beeped, and she checked the notification with a distracted finger swipe. Her gaze returned to the component she’d been working on for a split second before whipping back to the pad and snatching it up.
“What’s up?” I asked.
The hacker’s eyes went wide when they landed on me. “You made the news.”
“What are you talking about?” I didn’t see how I could be on the news. When we stopped for fuel and supplies, I hadn’t even gotten off the ship.
She tapped hurriedly on her pad. DLN32 appeared on the holo display, with Brice Howard reporting, per the usual.
“It’s not live,” Mack said. “A recording from earlier, I guess.”
“Delgado is being hailed as the face of the rebel group calling themselves “The Solaris Initiative” following an attack she led on Senator-Adrian Kaska. Here’s the disturbing clip if you missed it the first time. Be warned, it is violent in nature.”
The image switched and I was staring at myself back in Kaska’s office on Sarkon, rifle pointed at the camera. “I want to kill you.” The editor had done a good job. The transition was barely noticeable where they cut the rest of the exchange out. When I shot the guard, my eyes looked flat and cold, devoid of emotion. The camera image wobbled then faced the ceiling as the guard hit the floor. They froze the video on a still of me peering down at the camera as though fascinated by the dead body.
“That isn’t how it happened,” I protested angrily.
“We know that,” Farah reassured me.
“I do have the visor’s feed recorded,” Vega added helpfully. “If you wish to clear your name, I can send the file to the news channels.”
I was about to say yes when Mack waved a hand for us to be quiet. “Wait, it isn’t over yet.”
“Many are calling the footage doctored, a retaliation and attempt to take the focus off the senator and his own PR nightmare.”
Another video began to play, this one from the standoff. A side view of Kaska taunting me. “With you out of the way, I’m going to crush the rebellion under my foot like the lowliest insect.”
This video stopped strategically at Kaska’s leering smile. The wild look in his eye gave him a mad quality and I smiled in grim satisfaction.
Th
e display focused on the reporter again. “An outpouring of support has been expressed on the gal-net regarding Eva Delgado and the Solaris Initiative. Many are calling her a hero for standing up to a tyrannical government. Others say she’s a traitor. Where do you stand?”
The feed cut off.
“That’s crap,” I said. “They made me look like a murderer. V, go ahead and get that file together.”
“Wait a second,” Mack said, sitting up. She steepled her fingers thoughtfully. “Is being the face of the Initiative really so bad?”
I took a moment to think that over. “I guess that’s not so bad. It’s the other stuff I don’t want to deal with. What happens when some crazy asshole starts killing people in my name?”
“That’s a bit extreme.” Farah snorted.
“You know what I mean,” I said pointedly.
She nodded. “I do. Think about it this way though. It could be an opportunity. So many people are victimized by the Empire. This could give them a voice. You could be responsible for shaping that message into what’s right and keep it from getting twisted.”
I looked at Jax, the only one who had yet to offer an opinion.
He shrugged. “I don’t think it’s ever a good idea to give all the power to one individual, or even the same group. The Sarkon Empire and the Union both started as something small. Somewhere along the way they got too much power and couldn’t be stopped. If you do this, you can keep the Initiative honest. To a point.”
It was a good point. “Okay, we’ll leave it for now,” I decided.
Once again, I found myself looking to the future with uncertainty. More changes were coming, of that I could be sure.
The last weeks had changed my perspective on the rebellion. I still didn’t know whether Dunham could be trusted, but I intended to find out.
Something had been bugging me ever since the op but couldn’t put my finger on it until late one night watching a holo vid. One of the characters carried a cane, bringing up memories of the Vice-Admiral’s limp.
