Project Destiny

by Justin Sloan

  “Intrepid…” she said under her breath, then remembered herself and got to running.

  “Said I’d figure it out,” he replied, dropping something behind him. A moment later he was with her, dragging the teen. Intrepid slammed the door shut as the flash bang went off, and Alice heard the shouting of the men on the other side. Most likely, their face shields had protected their vision, but it would’ve been disorientating even if it didn’t temporarily blind them.

  “Where’d you come from?” she asked as he darted past her, still dragging the boy.

  Intrepid looked at her sternly, and then slammed down what she now saw was a lever nearby. Already the wall was lowering, and a moment later they were through, pushing on into darkness as the wall went up behind them.

  “I’ve been learning my way around here,” he said. “But, dammit, this… none of this was supposed to happen.”

  “That’s an understatement. What the hell were you doing in the guild? I thought we agreed—”

  “Forget everything from before,” he said, pulling up the boy next to him and pausing in the darkness, slapping him awake. “Times have changed.”

  “It was you?” she gasped, taking a step back. “You betrayed us… you…”

  “No, of course not. Well, not to those bastards. I can’t explain right now, but yes, I saw that the guilds could help us, so I went to them. You said not to, but I saw a better way. Simple as that.”

  “We don’t have time for this,” she said, glancing back at the sounds of pounding on the walls.

  “The switch was hidden. By the time they find it, we’ll be long gone.” He snapped his fingers in front of the boy’s eyes, then slapped him lightly. “You with us, Hal?”

  The boy blinked, nodded, but was clearly not fully there.

  “Can you at least move on your own?” Alice asked.

  “I can try,” the boy said. “I think…”

  “We’ll be right here if you need us,” Intrepid added, then motioned them onward as he led the way.

  Soon the sounds of the soldiers in pursuit were gone, but the memory of the way that man had looked at her wasn’t. Neither was the fact that they had Scorpio. When they reached a circular room, Intrepid glanced around as if there might be someone looking, then said, “The forest is full of thorns.”

  Alice knew a code phrase when she heard one, and now she too glanced around. Something moved to her left—a peephole being covered, perhaps. And then the walls shifted, spinning around in a circle. When they stopped, an opening led them into a well-lit room.

  They waited there as the wall behind them shifted again, and then a moment later an elderly woman stepped out from behind one of many curtains. A glance around showed curtains of gold and orange covering the walls, some with a strange symbol on them—a large circle held against the chest of a huge man. The man, however, was no man at all, but a titan, holding a moon that was in fact Saturn’s largest satellite, the one that Earth was working to terraform.

  And that told her where she was.

  Everyone knew about the cults of the space stations. While most of the inhabitants up here believed in the old God, or that science and a likely chance of alien life meant there were no actual gods, certain groups had found odd beliefs in Earth’s expansion to terraforming. One group focused on Mars, another on Titan. This was the latter, and they called themselves the Titanians, worshipers of what they believed were the old Greek titans, who they had—illogically, as far as Alice was concerned—linked to the moon Titan. Sure, the scientist John Herschel had named it so, based on the Greek myth, but he hadn’t actually believed there to be a connection.

  This group actually believed that, through the terraforming process, they would uncover the titans. That the titans had made this their resting place, and those who woke them up would side with them to take down the gods.

  Basically, the Titanians would work with the actual titans of mythology to destroy the humans, which they saw as modern representation of the gods.

  It was all Alice could do not to roll her eyes here. She took a deep breath, eyeing Intrepid warily, and hoping to all that was holy that he wasn’t secretly one of these freaks.

  He noticed, allowed a hint of a smile, and gave an almost imperceptive shake of his head.

  “What’s the meaning of this?” the woman asked, stepping closer.

  “Laverna is in need of help,” Intrepid replied. “It’s good to see you, Yerbuna.”

  Alice squinted, trying to recall who he could be referring to when he said ‘Laverna.’ No, not who, what. She remembered now where she had heard the name—an up and coming sub-group, one of those in the thieves’ guild. There were many, but this one had stood out to her upon hearing of it because of their stress on the body without a head. No leader.

  Was this the group Intrepid had been spending time with? Why?

  He purposefully avoided her glare, waiting on the old woman.

  Finally, Yerbuna nodded, gestured for them to follow, and led them through another curtain. It was quite possible that there were numerous doors or hallways behind those curtains. An odd place, for sure.

  This hallway also glowed orange, images soldered into the metal. Ancient battles, titans fighting the gods, and on the ceiling, the planet itself—illuminated as if blessed or magical.

  Yup, these people were loonies.

  Alice did her best to not gawk or laugh, which wasn’t too hard considering how amazed she was. To see the cult up close like this was a totally different feeling than simply hearing about them in all of the briefings when she’d been with New Origins.

  Now that she thought about it, though, wasn’t New Origins in its own way a cult? They brought people up here with promises of a life beyond the Solar system. Hiring miners and space station employees, even the military that her husband had been brought into, all based on the hope that they would be on the cutting edge of alien discovery.

  So far, that had proved a lie, and Alice wasn’t the only one having doubts about the whole scenario. The only reason to believe lately was a rumor of something found during the early stages of terraforming Mars. Many had argued against making a move on that planet to begin with, saying that it was too much work, that Titan made more sense, or simply favoring expanding the space stations for longer livability. But the U.S. wasn’t in charge anymore—not fully, anyway—and other superpowers had insisted on working Mars in parallel with Titan. The argument was that maybe one would be finished before the other, so colonization wouldn’t have to be delayed any longer than necessary.

  And now these rumors gave the other superpowers even more reason to insist on Mars for further development. They said there was ancient architecture buried deep. That it had been uncovered, but the workers were waiting on scientists to arrive before complete information was made public.

  For now, Alice had to assume it was all rumors put in place by either New Origins to keep morale high, or the Marsophiles to promote their agenda.

  Yerbuna paused at the end of the hallway and turned a wheel. Not the high tech sliding doors Alice was used to up here, this one reminded her more of the old museums of water ships she had seen on Earth. There weren’t many left, but her husband’s status with the Marines had granted her access to the museum just outside of DC.

  The heavy door started to open, and Intrepid stepped forward to help Yerbuna with it.

  On the other side, they found themselves in what at first appeared to be a bar or a lounge. Yerbuna led them to a table surrounded by a toshok, thick, Central Asian blankets for sitting on. Alice lowered herself to a cross-legged sitting position, ignoring the eyes from others in the room on her, the teen, and Intrepid. They all wore orange robes over their everyday clothing. Robes that would only be acceptable in dens like this, as the New Origins military discouraged such displays as being gang or guild related.

  In their minds, anything other than the system they worked to put in place was wrong, a threat to society.

  This particular
toshok was black with red and purple floral designs. Standard fare for a place such as this, though expensive. When she was handed tea, she glanced around and realized this was a chai-hana, or teahouse. They had been popularized back on Earth, especially in liberal states such as California and Washington. States that didn’t protest the rise of Central Asia, or many of the other changes in political power of the last fifty or so years.

  “We don’t have time for this,” Alice hissed at Intrepid.

  He had the teen boy at his side, and looked relieved that the boy seemed back to normal now. “I agree, but… we might not have a choice.”

  At that moment, a man with long orange robes and a matching square hat approached. He whispered into Yerbuna’s ear, and then walked back to the area that Alice guessed was the kitchen.

  “He says the soldiers are out there,” Yerbuna said, “fighting with a group led by the one they call the Heel. That’s what our scouts are seeing. I’m going to guess you all aren’t affiliated with either party, because if you say otherwise, you’re out of here.”

  “As I said…” Intrepid started.

  Yerbuna held up her hands. “Yes. I heard you. And based on that, you have our protection. I must be sure, of course.”

  Intrepid held out his left forearm and pulled back his sleeve. Fresh on his skin was ink of a simple vase at an angle to pour. Symbolic of the goddess for which his group was named, Alice knew. The fact that he already had the tattoo made Alice clench her teeth as she fought back the urge to throttle him. How long had he been going behind her back?

  Could he have been the one that had betrayed her team, leading to their current predicament?

  The thought came and went as she dismissed it, remembering that it had been his group that had been attacked, his brother killed. Of course he wasn’t the traitor, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t been plotting something behind her back. At some point, she’d have her answers from him.

  With a nod from Yerbuna, Alice placed her hand on the tattoo in a sign of respect, then sat with them. Yerbuna’s sideways glance at Alice didn’t go unnoticed. No offering of her own symbol, since she didn’t have one, meant that Alice was likely not affiliated with a religion.

  Indeed, that was the next question out of the woman’s mouth.

  “And you’re with them too?” Yerbuna asked, eyes darting to Alice’s forearm.

  There was no question Intrepid wanted her to lie, to say she was. But that wasn’t her style. Instead, Alice rolled up her sleeves, revealing bare forearms.

  “I see.” Yerbuna’s eyes narrowed. Nothing abnormal there—the non religs—what everyone called those without a religion, were quick enough to pass judgment on those with religion, so why not the other way around?

  All sides had their own rationalization, in a sense. The non religs stuck to their science, their focus on space and discovering life. Then there were the old ways, those who held a belief in a single God, such as Christianity and the others from its time.

  They all had their own groups of fundamentalists, the non religs included. And as far as Alice was concerned, none of that had any place in her search for answers. Hell, she didn’t know what to believe, but she sure as hell didn’t believe in a war between the titans and ancient Greek gods coming around anytime soon.

  What she did believe was that one of her team needed help, that a very powerful corporation wasn’t giving her the answers she deserved, and that something fishy had just happened out there with that soldier… something unsettling.

  “She’s with me,” Intrepid emphasized. “Leave it at that. Please.”

  The woman sighed, wrinkles around her eyes stretching, and then nodded. “It’s okay, really. But only because I believe I know who you are. Or rather… were.”

  Alice’s heart skipped a beat and she nearly stood, but caught herself. Instead she leaned in, focusing on keeping her voice calm. “Nobody knows who I am. I’m dead.”

  “Sure you are, honey.” Yerbuna leaned back, fingers steepled under her chin, and then smiled. “Or should I say—”

  “Stop,” Alice interrupted, eyes darting around the table, then the room. If anyone here happened to be with New Origins and realized who she was, there might be trouble. When she’d gone rogue, she’d faked her own death. People had come for her, so that made it easy. A simple explosion that took them out, after she’d accessed their equipment and reported to whoever they answered to that they’d taken care of her.

  New Origins was led to believe she had been sent out through an airlock. The rest of it, she figured, they would attribute to traps she would have laid. They knew her, and what she was capable of. It would be an easy connection to make.

  It was the only way she had to gain access to the people she needed. The only way to fake her new identity and operate without leaving plain trails.

  And yet, somehow, this woman knew. Or claimed to know.

  “What’s she talking about?” Intrepid finally broke the silence, glancing between the two women.

  “We all have our secrets,” Alice replied, her voice firm. “Mine aren’t as recent as yours.”

  Intrepid nodded at that. He could let it slide, for now. Alice had no doubts he would come back and snoop into her past the first chance he got.

  But if this woman knew, that meant she was suddenly much more interesting than she had been a minute before.

  “The past can wait,” Yerbuna said, nodding. “It’s not going anywhere. For now, tell me… What happened?”

  “They found us,” Intrepid said. “I don’t know how, but—”

  “We were made,” Alice replied. “A sandpit.”

  “No.” Intrepid shook his head, emphasizing the point. “No way in hell. Swinger’s the best door man there is. And Scorpio, you know his skills are solid.”

  “Whatever happened,” Alice leaned back, trying to really make sense of it finally, “they definitely set a trap. Must’ve found someone as good as me, or…”

  “An insider,” Yerbuna said, hands now rubbing together, nervously. “Your team is compromised. You have PD soldiers crawling around this place looking for you, and you’re hiding out here with me at the moment. Please, tell me you have a plan.”

  Intrepid and Alice shared a concerned moment, then Alice spoke up.

  “We form a new team.”

  “What?” the other two said in unison.

  “They have Scorpio,” Alice pointed out.

  “They’re a corrupt organization intent on taking advantage of the working class,” Yerbuna said. “They also run this whole station. What can we do against them?”

  “Show them they aren’t gods,” Alice spat out, instantly regretting it. She stared forward, refusing to show any weakness. The underlying meaning in what she said, as further evidenced by her tone, was that there were no gods.

  More eyes turned their way, Yerbuna chewing on her lip as she was clearly restraining herself.

  “You’re not our ally,” the woman finally said, voice low. “Not in anything but this. You want to lay low while the fighting is going on out there? Be our guest. You want to form a team to hit them where it hurts? We’d like to help.”

  Alice wasn’t expecting that, but judging by what this lady claimed to know, she had no doubt the help would be welcome and useful.

  They would get their team. They would save Scorpio, if it wasn’t too late. At the forefront of Alice’s mind, however, were the answers she was going to find once they made it into the building.

  9

  Stealth: Lower Chambers - The Heel’s Lair

  Pete led the way, grumbling and turning back occasionally to glare at Stealth, but Bloodhound wasn’t being so subtle.

  “Dammit, what happened back there?” He shoved Stealth for the fifth time, and now Stealth turned, shoving him back.

  “I froze! Okay? I don’t know how to explain it, but…” He searched for the words, about to finish the sentence when the butt of Bloodhound’s rifle slammed into his gut. Normally the body armo
r would’ve been protection, but with Bloodhound’s enhancements and added strength from the exoskeleton, it was like a battering ram slamming into him.

  Stealth was knocked against the wall, then fell to his knees.

  “Hey, hey!” Pete was there, holding Bloodhound back. “What the hell do you think Nightshade will do if she finds us like this?”

  “Any worse than she’ll do when she finds out we failed?” Bloodhound replied, still glaring at Stealth.

  “Maybe, maybe not,” Pete replied. “But if the enemy escaped, that means we’re not the only team that failed tonight. Hell, even she—”

  “Definitely don’t let her hear you saying that.”

  “I didn’t even say it.”

  Bloodhound nodded. “Exactly. Point is, Piss for Brains over here can’t stay focused for two seconds with the ‘here.’” He put a finger in Stealth’s face. “I’m going to make sure your ass is grass, you hear me?”

  “I knew her…” Stealth coughed, pushing himself up.

  Pete and Bloodhound shared a look, then Pete shook his head. “What are you talking about, you knew her? We’re on a space station. There are likely a lot of people you know. That doesn’t mean you can fail in your duties.”

  “No, I mean… from before.”

  A new emotion showed in the eyes of the other two, and Pete raised his faceplate to have a good look at Stealth.

  “Listen here,” Pete said in a hiss, “that’s bull. You don’t know anyone from before. No way.”

  “Even you guys?” Stealth asked.

  “Even us what?”

  Stealth shook his head, pulling back his faceplate now, too. He rubbed his temples. A throbbing pain was coursing through his skull.

  “I’d talked to Red about it, before… before they got him. He was blotchy too, in his memories. We figured it had something to do with the drugs, the tests….”