by Wesley Chu
Staying low to the ground, he went two-thirds the length of the building before a small light between the shadows of two ships caught his eye. He cut in to it and found Vaneek standing alone, nervously pacing back and forth.
The boy gave a start and looked his way. “Who’s there?”
Holding his hands up, Levin walked into the light. “Thanks for agreeing to see me.”
“Auditor Levin,” Vaneek said, visibly relieved. “You’re on time. Of course. Come with me.”
“Where are we going? This can’t be where the quarantine archives are located.”
Vaneek looking nervous, chuckled. “This is just the easiest way to sneak you in. Come on, we’re heading two more levels underground.”
“Hang on,” Levin said. “Let me recall Cole.”
The young administrator fidgeted. “Does he have to come?”
“I’m in hearing range,” Cole said inside Levin’s head. “Your voices are echoing all over the room. Go ahead. I have sights on him and can keep an eye out on you from the shadows.”
“Will do, Cole,” Levin thought back. “Hey, thanks again for following through with this and watching my back. It means a lot.”
“I’m just not going to let that little shit get the jump on Javier-Oberon. That’s all.”
Levin nodded to Vaneek and together, they headed further east, past the skeletons of several more ships, until they reached a staircase heading down to the sublevel of the building. There, more ships resided, most in worse condition than the ones above. This must be where the agency kept dead collies for parts. Hundreds of wrecks littered the room, some covered in so many layers of dust he couldn’t make out what they were. Levin couldn’t help but feel the many blackened portholes staring eerily at him as he passed by. They continued through the maze of ships until they reached a small clearing.
“What is going on?” Levin asked.
Vaneek held up the light. “He’s here.”
Dozens of lights shined brightly on him from every direction. It was a trap! Levin powered on his exo and prepared to punch through the ceiling. However, he noticed at least twenty other exos power on as well, all of them orange. He was surrounded by auditors.
Julia appeared out of the darkness. “Stand down, Levin.”
Levin turned to Vaneek standing next to him, the betrayal painful, but not completely unexpected. He wanted to say something, either out of anger or regret. It didn’t matter. This was how his life would end. In the middle of the night in an old warehouse. Without even a fight, for he had already decided that he wasn’t going to fight Julia again. Not like it would make a lick of difference with all these exos here. He didn’t stand a chance.
“I sought Auditor Julia’s advice,” Vaneek blubbered. “I didn’t know what else to do.”
Levin turned to her and held his arms up, exposing his bands. “As agreed, the next time you see me.”
Julia rolled her eyes. “You’re so damn histrionic, Levin.” She walked up to him and pulled a metal device out of her netherstore container. He recognized it as a data reservoir when she placed it in front of him. “Your encryption key, Auditor Levin.”
His confusion was followed by a small spark of hope as he punched in the 143-character code to decrypt his personal files. As soon as he did, Julia put her hands on the reservoir and spoke in a clear voice, “It’s sent. Analyze and review.”
He took a step toward her. “I have a master summary list you can access—”
The exo around her flared. “Don’t move, Levin. Your life right now depends on what is in this reservoir. If it’s not exactly what you told me, I’m hauling you straight to Young.”
The next ten minutes stretched in the darkness. Someone behind him gasped. Another to his right cursed. Within minutes, the chatter in the room grew as the group surrounding him grumbled about his evidence. A silhouette stepped toward him, as did a few more until he could make out who they were. He recognized Hameel, head of Handler Operations; Moyer, the Lead Monitor; Rowe, High Auditor of the space sector; and Marn, High Auditor of Ganymede. A few moments later, as the conversation intensified and the crowd gathered around him, he realized that almost half of Earth’s ChronoCom leadership was here.
“Cole,” Levin thought as he waited. “How does it look from your position? I’m here with a group of seniors within the agency.”
“Things are dead quiet,” Cole replied. “Everything going all right down there?”
“So far. Stand by. This could take a while. Let me know if it gets hot topside.”
“So you aren’t full of shit.” Julia sounded resigned. “You were never one to bluff, but I wasn’t sure you weren’t trying to con me, all things considered.”
“This was a test?” he said. “You believe me? Why didn’t you just retrieve what I asked when we met?”
“Don’t be absurd,” she said. “I’m not risking treason on your word alone. However, when Vaneek came and told me what you wanted him to do, I realized you might be telling the truth. I spoke with the trusted leadership within the agency”—she pointed at the others around them—“who are similarly disenchanted. We needed your encryption key to unlock the information, so we set up this meeting.”
“The question I have,” Moyer said, stepping forward, “is what are we going to do about it? I’m losing monitors every day fighting in the quagmire in New York. My people’s lives shouldn’t be wasted for the megacorporations’ profits.”
“Nearly sixty percent of all chronmen operations these days are commissioned by the corporations,” Hameel added. “Fatality rates of the chronmen average sixteen percent higher on those jobs.”
Rowe, likely the highest-ranking person there, asked Levin, “You wanted this information. You must have a plan. Let’s hear it.”
Levin looked at the group. It was small but influential. A good place to begin. “I want to start a coup, starting with Earth. We restore ChronoCom to its intended role of working for the greater good of mankind, without the taint of the megacorporations.”
“The agency’s main leadership all reside on Europa,” Marn said. “Sleeping right next to the very corrupting influence we’re trying to pry the agency from.”
“We replace the entire leadership, then,” Julia said.
“Earth has always been the key to salvaging anyway,” Levin said. “We all know that. Whoever controls the planet’s salvage controls the agency.”
“Earth is still too large for us to handle, especially with this small group,” said Hameel.
The conservation dissolved again into a free-for-all of opinions on the next best step. For the first time, it was clear that many in the senior hierarchy had a general dissatisfaction with the agency’s direction. Everyone had thought that they were alone and been fearful of voicing their concerns. Levin’s actions had broken the dam. At first, people shared their stories, and then, as often happens with a group of leaders and problem solvers, they all turned to solutions. The talk got louder and louder until arguments broke out.
“The chron database,” Hameel said. “The chron database is key to all of ChronoCom’s operations. If we take that over, as well as its backup on Luna, we control the agency.”
“Two points of control,” Moyer mused. “That we can manage. We might even be able to do this before the rest of the agency knows what is happening.”
“Wait, you want to pull this off tonight?” Julia frowned. “We need to think this through. Carefully plan things out.”
“We’re a thousand meters from the chron database,” Hameel replied. “If we leave Central, we’ll never make it this close again. Otherwise, once Young sees that we’ve all disappeared, he’ll know something is up and beef up security. Tonight is our best shot.”
“Forget the database,” Vaneek said, his voice drowned out by the chatter. “We need to take over the Hops instead.”
“I’m with Julia on this,” Rowe said. “We have thirty noncombatants with us. We can’t put everyone in danger.”
“We’ve all been through the Academy,” Jan, the elderly lead statistician, said. “I still know how to use an abyss-damn gun. We’ll fight.” The guy actually looked like he was having fun.
“What do you think, Levin?” Rowe asked.
Levin looked at the group and considered their options. Moyer was right. Right now was probably their best chance to seize the chron database. Julia was right as well. They were in no shape for a frontal attack on the most heavily guarded data center in the solar system. However, they would be in even worse shape tomorrow once the agency learned of the insurrection and went on high alert. They would never be able to step foot into Earth Central again. Now was their chance. “Let’s finish this tonight.”
“We need to take over the Hops,” Vaneek piped up again, louder, just loud enough for all to hear. The talk died down and everyone’s attention turned to him. Looking nervous, he stepped next to Levin. “The only way we can pull this off is if the rest of the agency knows what’s going on.”
“What will taking over the Hops do?” Rowe asked.
“The people in this group,” Vaneek gestured at them, “are some of the most respected people in the agency. You don’t think that means something to the rank and file? We all look up to you. The problem right now is none of them knows what is happening. The Hops is the only place we can broadcast this information.” He pointed at Levin. “Show them those files of yours. Let them decide.”
“Hedging on their loyalty is a huge gamble,” said Julia.
Moyer nodded. “No, the boy’s right. The rest of the agency’s loyalty is the only thing worth gambling on. If we can’t convince them, we’ve lost anyway. Besides, let’s be honest. What are you going to do even if you take the chron database? Holding the chron database hostage is a joke. Everyone knows none of us will risk damaging it. It would effectively destroy ChronoCom’s only justification to be the managing body for time traveling. It would just give every corporation a free license to make their own jumps.”
Moyer was probably right on that count. If it came down to it, Levin wouldn’t follow through with his threat. If that was so clear to the lead monitor, it would be clear to Young as well. Levin scanned the group of people huddled around him. He hadn’t expected things to move so quickly, but if it had to be, there was no finer group to fight with than the one around him. “We’ll go now.”
Rowe nodded. “Gather the loyal ranks and chains. The tiers probably won’t get involved. However, with the element of surprise, we might not need them. That leaves just the administrators to take care of.”
Levin put an arm around Vaneek’s shoulder. “Good thinking, son.”
Vaneek smiled. “Thanks, Auditor Levin. I’m just proud to be part of this—”
A red arc shot across the room and seemed to go right through the young administrator. The smile on his face wavered, and he looked down. Then his knees gave, and Levin had to catch him before he fell to the ground.
A figure walked from the source of the shot to the edge of the lit area. Cole, holding a blaster rifle, spat on the ground. “I’ve been waiting to do that. Good riddance to that little bastard.”
“What did you just do?” Levin gasped, jaws dropping. “Why?”
Cole shrugged. “Because I don’t like him. Never did, and besides, like you always tell me, Uncle, I’m earning my keep.”
Levin’s blood froze when a white glow burst from his body. Suddenly, dozens of exos, most yellow with a sprinkle of oranges, bloomed all around them. A small orb floated in the air above them and a three-dimensional representation of Director Young appeared.
The orb floated in the air and made a slow circle, carrying the image of Young with it. He appraised the entire group. “This is a bigger disaster than I thought. Rebels, at a critical time, when humanity’s survival hangs in the balance. How could all of you possibly conceive of doing this? I am disappointed in so many of you. I’m sorry it had to come to this.”
“It’s at this very critical time that we must do this, Young,” Levin replied. “We continue down this path and—”
Young cut him off. “Silence! You’re a traitor and a criminal, Levin.”
“How would you like us to deal with the traitors, Director?” Cole asked.
Young sighed. “This is going to be such a mess to clean up. The agency will be forced to replace a large portion of the leadership, but I guess it can’t be helped. Cole, your new employer has already given you orders. See to it.”
FIFTY-ONE
ASSAULT ON ONE GALAXY
The ten Hephaestus transports, twelve Valkyries, and forty collies swooped toward the cloud-shaped fog that shrouded the Mist Isle. From a distance, it looked like a giant misshapen dome filled with a living mist that writhed along the edges. Only the tops of the tallest buildings on the island protruded past the surface of the cloud.
The small armada came to a stop over the dome, hovering a few meters above its surface. The exhaust of the ships punched little dents into the fog but could never seem to disperse it. The fleet moved in a tight, flat, circular formation and adjusted its positioning until each ship was hovering at an exact assigned spot. As if on cue, they all moved together six hundred meters south. They readjusted again, rotating a few degrees clockwise. The circular formation was just large enough to cover a two-city-block radius around the All Galaxy Tower.
“Senior,” a voice buzzed inside Kuo’s head. “We’re directly above the stated coordinates.”
The rear bay doors of the Hephaestus opened, letting in a high-pitched shriek as a blast of cold air swept through the hull. Kuo walked to the edge of the ramp and looked down at the roiling mist just below her feet. She knelt down and ran her hands through the gray mist. Not wet, not cool, not anything. Just there. She looked up at the lighter clouds lazily floating through the air. This EMP fog was a fog in name only. How it came to be was a mystery, an ancient weapon and technology long since forgotten, but it had been such a constant thorn in her side. She would be happy when this project was over.
“All Co-op,” she broadcast through her comm module. “No incendiaries or explosives. Watch your marks. The temporal anomaly is to be taken alive. Any harm done to her is an immediate forfeiture of contract. All others are expendable. Eliminate with extreme prejudice.”
Kuo pulled up the schematics of the city overlaid by the location of her ships. The All Galaxy Tower was at the exact center of this circle. This time, the temporal anomaly would not escape. The traitor had provided detailed thought images of what the scientist looked like, as well as key intelligence for the attack. In her eyes, while the information was valuable, Kuo did not think it was worth what he demanded. However, that problem could be addressed at a later date.
“All ships, once you unload your cargo, pull outside the EMP fog to patrol the perimeter and await further instructions. Any savage trying to flee the island is to be cut down,” she ordered. “Commence insertion on … mark.”
The armada dropped into the dark fog simultaneously. Some ships fell just above the waterline while others stopped at strategic points: bridges, entrances, decks, and balconies. Every one of them unloaded their cargo in unison, pouring thousands of Valta troopers and ChronoCom monitors into the buildings against an unknown number of savages. Not that it mattered. Not this time. Previously, the savages were able to nullify the Co-op’s superior firepower and skill with numbers and the ability to retreat into the haze and the Mist Isle’s jungle. Now they had nowhere to run.
Her forces had the entire city block blanketed at every point of escape. Now all they had to do was methodically squeeze these savages until something materialized. It was just a matter of time before they found the scientist. The sooner Kuo finished with this unpleasant assignment, the sooner she could leave this hellscape and return home.
Kuo stepped out of the Hephaestus onto the main bridge connecting to the All Galaxy Tower on the north. Nine of her trooper pods were cleaning out the building behind her while three monitors squads h
eld the connecting bridges. According to Cole, this floor, the thirty-fourth, was the linchpin of the operation. If the Co-op took this floor, then they had all the higher floors isolated and controlled the heart of this upstart wastelander nation.
She walked down the length of the bridge to the middle, where a group of her forces had stopped in their tracks. Kuo frowned. This heavily armed pod should have no issues cutting through the sticks, stones, and whatever the abyss these primitives were armed with. Yet, already, the shockers had activated their shells, a translucent hardened energy shield the length and width of a man that connected at the left forearm, and closed in ranks.
She approached the pod captain. “What is the problem?”
He pointed at the pile of trash at the end of the bridge. At first, it looked like nothing more than junk loosely stacked. Then she noticed the people standing near the top of it. In the center of the pile was a wide metal double door.
“You should be able to blow through that little problem,” she said.
“If you look closely, Senior,” he said.
Kuo did, and noticed the faint silvery glimmer in front of the barricade. She scowled. “That’s our field cover, isn’t it?”
The pod captain nodded. “Same signature. Probably stolen from the York outpost. The fact that we’re on a bridge limits our options. It will be difficult to break through without explosives.”
“No explosives. We cannot risk hurting the scientist,” she said. “Have your men tested the edges?”
He nodded. “End to end. I sent two for close proximity readings. They were hit with blaster and beam fire for their efforts.”
An interesting development. Not only had these savages managed to steal and repurpose a Valta one-way static shield, they were also now using the megacorporation’s firearms. This made the task more difficult. She would just have to take matters into her own hands.
“Have your shockers ready to charge,” she said.
Kuo shot straight up twenty meters through the glassless frame of the bridge into the haze, and veered straight at the skyscraper. The side of the building gave her minimal resistance as she punched through the wall, raining down rubble as she landed in the interior behind the barricade.
