Syndicate Wars: False Dawn (Seppukarian Book 4)

by George S. Mahaffey Jr.

  Mackie shook his head. “You don’t even know if that’s possible.”

  Quinn turned to Cody who sighed ferociously. “I’ve tried explaining the pros and cons of the operation to everyone.”

  “So do a better job,” Quinn hissed. “This is the only option. If I have go up there in the goddamn glider by myself and attack the time ship I will. Who’s with me?”

  Hawkins shook his head. “You guys are like blood to me now, after all we been through, but I’m about broke. I’m sittin’ this one out.”

  Calee nodded. “Me too. I’m gonna focus on what we have here.”

  Quinn cursed under her breath. For a moment she had the strongest desire to call them cowards, but then realized this was all a blessing in disguise. Better to out the unreliable now than when the shit started really hitting the fan up in space.

  “How about it?” she said to the rest of them. “Who else is gonna bail on me?”

  Giovanni looked up. “I think people who are in shock don’t make the best decisions, Quinn, but I’ll go with you.”

  “Me too,” said Hayden. “I’ve gone this far.”

  Renner raised his hand as did Luke, Mackie, Eli, Mira, and Cody. Quinn’s gaze ratcheted over to Milo. “How ‘bout it, Milo? You gonna stay down here and turn your sword into a plowshare? Maybe start up a farm out in the country?”

  “Fuck you, Quinn,” he snapped back.

  “You’d say that to the woman who saved your skinny white ass back out on the frozen lake?” she snapped. “Or did you forget about that?”

  “Oh, so you’re gonna play that card now?” he asked.

  “Only one I’ve got left.”

  He chewed on his lips and nodded. “Fine, but I’m going on the record as saying this is a suicide mission and we’re all probably going to die.”

  She nodded and feigned a smile. “But at least we’ll be together.”

  “That is in no way reassuring.”

  Quinn turned to Cody. “Let’s plan our order of battle.”

  OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS, they sat in the silo’s command center, pouring over reams of information on a series of screens, everything presented and manipulated by Cody who was detailing all of the information he’d gleaned from the last temporal totem. He explained the time ship’s anticipated coordinates and how it would eventually appear near the rings of Saturn, some seven-hundred and fifty-million miles from Earth.

  “Saturn?” Renner asked, raising his hand. “Why the hell is the ship circling Saturn?”

  Cody smiled. “Excellent question. My theory is that the ship needs to be close enough to the planet’s magnetosphere.”

  “Why?” Milo asked.

  “Because Saturn’s unique internal magnetic field and its magnetosphere likely create a gravity-less moment in time that allows for the possibility of time travel. It’s the only place in the galaxy that makes sense, frankly, to attempt it.”

  At this, Cody stood and tapped on one of the screens, bringing up an intricately-detailed schematic of Saturn. “Saturn’s special in that the axis and the magnetosphere match. That shouldn't be possible, but it is and it creates a bubble where you can manipulate gravity, which is the primary inhibitor of time travel. It’s basically the galaxy’s Goldilocks area if you want to take a trip into the past.”

  Cody then powered up a graphic of the time ship, a bulky alien vessel that was several footballs fields in length and width.

  “That mother’s gonna be heavily weaponed,” Renner said.

  “Which is why we can’t confront it, head-on,” Cody replied with a nod. “Besides, if we’re too obvious in the assault and there really are time loops, all we’ve done is give them a reason to send a message back earlier to put more defenses in our way, give a heads up that we’re coming.”

  “So then we orchestrate a surgical strike,” Quinn offered.

  “Easier said than done,” Milo whispered in reply.

  Cody stared off, contemplating, then raised a finger. “We could in theory, use one or more of its planetary rings as cover. The particles are energized so they’d likely act like electronic countermeasures if the time ship’s using any detection equipment.”

  Quinn nodded. “And then theoretically we wait for the ship to pass over us and attach ourselves to the side and find a way in.”

  Cody pointed to the schematic of the time ship, drawing attention to the rear of the craft. “It is likely the ship’s power source is similar to the one used on the command ship. One, possibly two, nuclear thrust reactors. We could attach several electromagnetic cables to the ship and slide over and then we’d breach the ship’s hull—”

  “And get sucked right back out,” Milo said.

  Cody clicked his tongue. “You the scientist now?”

  “You don’t need a degree to realize that if you blow a hole in a space ship it ain’t good,” Milo replied.

  “All Syndicate ships have double hulls for pressurization purposes.”

  “You’re certain?” Giovanni asked.

  “As much as I can be,” Cody said, nodding. “We blow a hole in the first hull with a small explosive at or around the reactor room. If we did it that way, any explosion would likely go unnoticed. I can’t guarantee that it won’t set off alarms, but there’s a good chance it would be masked by the reactor’s normal operations.”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa. You want us to detonate an explosive near … a nuclear fucking reactor?” Renner said.

  “You got something better in mind?” Cody asked.

  Renner opened his mouth, but didn’t respond and so Cody continued, “Once inside the ship, the team can hopefully fight its way through to that.”

  He pointed to a section at the bottom of the ship.

  “What’s there?” Quinn asked.

  “The Holy of Holies,” Cody said. “It’s an area directly below the bridge. That’s where the mechanism that controls time travel is likely housed.”

  “And you know how to use it?” Quinn asked.

  “Do you think I’d be going along if I didn’t?” Cody replied.

  “Too goddamn much of this is theoretical,” Hayden exclaimed, shaking his head. “I want to know the cold, hard truth here.”

  Cody powered the screens down and looked at Hayden. “The truth is I don’t know about any of this. I mean I have theories, my time on the command ship, and some pretty strong assumptions, but at the end of the day, most of it’s just … conjecture.”

  “That’s a fancy word for ‘guess,’” Hayden stated.

  Cody nodded.

  After a moment, Hayden, added, “Yeah, well, in my experience, people die when you guess.”

  “And we could all die up there,” Cody replied, pursing his lips. “I can’t make any promises, but I believe we can make this work.”

  “And once we get inside?” Milo asked. “What are we looking at?”

  “What would you leave behind to guard a time machine?” Cody asked.

  “A small army,” Milo said.

  Cody nodded and smiled. “I think that’s about right.”

  DUSK FOUND Quinn at the base’s outbuilding that concealed the glider. She was hauling several sets of Syndicate armor into the craft along with rifles and other gear, readying for the trip to the time ship. Snatching up several racks of ammunition, she moved toward the glider when someone called out, “Need any help?” Quinn looked back to see Cody.

  “It’s probably better if I do this alone,” she said.

  “How come?”

  She stopped and stared at him, but didn’t respond.

  “You’ve been through a lot, Quinn.”

  “Thanks for the news flash.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “What good would that do?”

  “Some people find it helps them to process things if they discuss it with another human being.”

  “I’m not one of those people. No offense.”

  “None taken.”

  She continued on toward the gl
ider and Cody watched her go, then called out, “Do you think we’ve been here before?”

  Quinn stopped, her back to him. She dropped what she was carrying and slowly turned. Cody summoned a smile. “Some of the others asked me that, y’know on account of what was under that frozen lake and all. I think they’re a little uneasy. They asked whether we’ve gone this way before and how it ended.”

  “And what did tell them?” Quinn asked.

  Cody’s eyes strayed to the ground. His smile slipped away. “I can’t believe this moment, what we’re doing here, has ever happened exactly like this before.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  He looked up. “Because I would’ve remembered how beautiful you look right now.”

  Quinn fought to suppress a blush. “Yeah, well, maybe none of this is real. Maybe none of us are who we seem to be. Like me, for instance. Maybe I’m just a figment of your imagination. A ghost.”

  “Then it’s like that old song, huh? ‘I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, haunted by the ghost of you.’”

  Quinn didn’t recognize the song.

  Cody approached and said, “I think the fact that we’re having this conversation means we win. That ultimately we will find the time ship and set things right.”

  “You’re a man of science, doctor,” she whispered. “What evidence do you have that that’s true?”

  He shook his head. “None. But sometimes you have to have a little faith.”

  She leaned into him and they stood in silence, holding each other. Quinn kissed him on the cheek and whispered, “Whatever happens, don’t forget me.” The moon broke overhead as Quinn leaned her head against Cody’s shoulder.

  GIOVANNI STEPPED OUTSIDE for some fresh air, not at all surprised to see Luke standing there, staring out into space. It reminded him of the first night so long ago, the night they had met.

  Now here they were, about to try and change it all. They both new that this was necessary, that their journey could end in success, or royally fuck up any chance the two would have ever had at being happy.

  “It’s really happening, huh?” Luke said, finally noticing him there.

  Giovanni nodded, then walked over and took his hand. “If we get separated, or you get sent back to see me as a child, I don’t know…just… Just remember this moment, okay?”

  “There are a lot of moments I’ll remember,” Luke replied with a sly smile.

  Giovanni chuckled. “Do you think we really have a shot at this?”

  “I think that, if anyone has a shot at bringing down the Syndicate, it’s us. And yes, I think we’re going to fucking do it.”

  “Are you saying that because you believe it, or because you know I think confidence is sexy as hell?”

  “Both,” Luke replied, squeezing his hand.

  “I’ll take it,” Giovanni replied, stepping in close and resting his head on Luke’s shoulder, joining him in staring at the stars.

  27

  Q uinn led everyone onto the glider in the blue light of pre-dawn. There was no grand sendoff, no gestures of goodwill by the other resistance fighters, except for Dan, who came out to wish them well. He offered to help on the mission to the time ship, but Quinn, not being entirely certain where his loyalties lay, declined.

  The others remained back down in the silo, weary and tired of fighting, ready and willing to take a knee. Quinn couldn’t blame them. She only prayed that they’d be successful in taking over the time ship before the Syndicate decided to take out the base.

  Everyone entered the glider and shrugged on their armor and helmets, just like old times. Weapons were loaded and gear stacked and packed as Cody and Hayden throttled the glider’s engines, readying for one final adventure. The glider rocketed up into the sky, Cody using the onboard navigation system to plot the fastest possible approach to Saturn, which involved harnessing the propulsive force of the parallax engines along with the several nifty gravitational assists.

  By flying in close to several larger planetary bodies while simultaneously firing the glider’s engines, the glider would harness orbital momentum to slingshot itself toward Saturn, cutting the flight time down significantly. Cody said that in the past, spacecraft typically reached Saturn in two years or less, but that using the glider and the gravitational assist, they hoped to reach it in a dozen hours. God willing.

  Quinn eased on her helmet and strapped herself into her launch bay, studying a projected schematic of the time ship. Since the last temporal totem contained only the rough dimensions of the vessel, Cody had done his best to guestimate what the interior might look like. Quinn noted that the ship appeared to have three levels along with myriad compartments.

  “Goddamn time ship looks like Noah’s friggin’ ark,” Renner muttered through the communications link, as if reading Quinn’s mind.

  “If it is, what’s it holding?” Milo shot back.

  Nobody answered and Quinn turned toward the bridge.

  “What happens when we get inside, Cody?”

  “We find the time travel mechanism,” he replied.

  “Then what?”

  “Then comes the unknown,” he said.

  “Not what I was hoping to hear,” Giovanni said.

  “Anyone heard of the ‘Many Worlds’ theory of quantum mechanics?” Cody asked.

  Everyone shook their heads and he continued, “So basically, it’s a hypothesis that says there are an infinite number of universes. And everything that could have possibly happened in one’s past could have occurred in another universe or universes.”

  “What the fuck does that even mean?” Renner asked.

  “That there are an endless number of possible loops, universes, when you go back in time. Just pray that we’re able to access the right one.”

  Silence flooded the ship and Quinn turned to examine the map Cody had created that would guide them if and when they breached the ship. She then turned as the order of battle filtered down through the helmet’s heads up display. If all went as planned, the assault team would hide in the shadow of Saturn’s rings and wait for the Syndicate ship to appear at the appointed time.

  They would then launch themselves from the glider using ratlines, electromagnetic cables, and find a way to infiltrate the massive alien craft near its engine compartment. Renner had brought along a few bricks of military-grade explosives in order to breach the ship, but there was still no concrete intel on what they might find once they entered the ship. Quinn had visions of labyrinthine corridors filled with Syndicate soldiers or Reaper drones, but nobody knew and that was what scared everyone the most. The uncertainty of the whole operation.

  Renner, as he was wont to do, found a way to power up some old tunes and Quinn laid back, listening to the sound of “Ma Vlast,” a piece of classical music by the Czech composer Smetana that Renner said was about missing one’s homeland. That seemed entirely appropriate to Quinn, who powered through the images on her HUD, eventually landing on a series of cities in different parts of the world.

  At that moment, it dawned on her that the only times in her life that she’d ever visited other counties was when she’d been sent there to kill people. That didn’t seem right and, as the music reached a crescendo, Quinn found herself lost in the HUD.

  She had the POV of a great bird of prey, swooping down through the skies, following the courses of ancient rivers, traveling cobblestoned backstreets and forgotten thoroughfares of cities in Europe and Asia. Everything else melted away, the invasion, Samantha, the upcoming operation, and soon Quinn was sleeping soundly for the first time in a very long time.

  QUINN WOKE WITH A START.

  A blitzkrieg of static screeched from the HUD.

  She jolted awake and looked around. The others were rousing awake. She worked to kill the static on her HUD.

  “Sorry about that,” Cody said over the helmet’s communications link.

  “Where are we?” Quinn asked.

  “Close,” Cody whispered. “Very close.”


  Quinn exited her launch bay, Milo, Renner, and the others behind her. They peered over the shoulders of Hayden and Cody, staring out at the icy aggregate, a whirlwind of icy particles that formed the “solid” portions of Saturn’s rings. The elongated clumps were continually forming and dispersing in a haze, obscuring visibility. Beyond that, they could see the outline of a large moon, orbiting Saturn.

  “Beautiful isn’t it?” Cody said. “It’s Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. It’s almost a billion miles from the sun so on a warm day it’s two-hundred and ninety degrees below Fahrenheit.”

  “Remind me to bring my jacket,” Renner quipped.

  “We aren’t going there,” Cody said, gesturing to a section of space out beyond Titan. “We’re going there.”

  “How long?” Quinn asked.

  “Seven minutes,” Cody replied.

  “Not five or seven, huh?” Renner asked. “The ship is gonna appear in precisely seven minutes?”

  “Count it,” Cody said.

  Renner glanced at Quinn. “Man says that as if he’s done this before.”

  “I hope not,” Quinn replied. “If that’s true, it means we’ve already failed.”

  Nobody replied to that, everyone just continuing to watch and see what developed. The minutes ticked by and Renner began drumming his fingers on the flight console, irritating the hell out of Hayden who swatted him away.

  “Let me be the first to ask: what happens if this thing’s a bust?” Milo asked.

  Quinn shook her head. “Ever the optimist.”

  Milo shrugged. “I’m just saying…”

  “Then we high-tail back to home if possible,” Giovanni said.

  “Do we even have a home anymore?” Mackie replied. “We’re out at Shiloh.”

  “So then we make our own goddamn home,” Hayden said. “We’re a family aren’t we? Home is wherever I’m with you crazy bastards.”

  The others laughed, but Cody shook his head.

  “There’s no way home,” he said softly. “We’re all going onto the time ship. We either win or we stay up here forever. There’s no going back.”