Paradisi Escape: A Paradisi Chronicles novella (Paradisi Exodus Book 1)

by Cheri Lasota

  “Vida?” Solomon said.

  She smiled and shook her head while keeping her gaze locked on Kasen. When he glanced back at her and nodded, she turned her attention back to Solomon.

  “I've asked Kasen to disable the comms.” She glanced around nonchalantly to see if anyone was nearby.

  Solomon did the same. The only person close enough was the girl who had approached him earlier, Neyve Colgan, but she seemed sufficiently occupied with her own thoughts.

  “What's the news?” Brooker asked.

  “Tavian Hunt just sent me an encrypted message.”

  Definitely didn't bode well. Tav worked as Vida's right-hand man as Drive Ops Specialist in the SS Challenge's Propulsion Sector, and more specifically, the Cavitran Drive that ensured they'd escape this disastrous planet for good. An irreparable problem with the Cav Drive would be catastrophic for the 10,000 souls aboard the ship.

  Solomon massaged the pressure points on the back of his neck with both hands. “Is the Cav Drive down?” he asked her.

  Vida gave him a strange look that morphed from worry to triumph in a matter of an instant.

  “Well, no. Not yet. It will be soon, though. But that's the good news.”

  Solomon raised an eyebrow but waited.

  “Out with it, Vida,” Kasen pressed. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Just start from the beginning,” Solomon said.

  “Yes, better to start there.” Vida reverted back into her usual serious tones. “Yesterday Tav heard a rumor that Challenge Command has been bringing people up in the Tolux Sky Elevator lifters via the Maldives Islands at a steady clip for about three weeks.”

  “Did he say who they are? I've heard rumors about increased spacecraft activity between the Tolux Sky Elevator and Nautilus-11 in the last couple of weeks. I assumed it was Founder business. I wondered about it but—” Solomon frowned. The look on Vida's face told him everything. “They're planning to sneak those people aboard the Challenge?” he guessed.

  “It's worse. Challenge Command is going to kick us off the ship altogether and give our cryo beds—and our ticket to New Eden—to these people. ”

  “What the actual fuck?” Kasen blurted out, slicing his hand through the air with the severity of a guillotine.

  “Tavian has to be mistaken,” Solomon said. “Where is he now?”

  “Tav's back on the SS Challenge at the moment, but he investigated around the space station earlier today and saw them himself. Hidden in the Serica Sector on Nautilus-11. He heard one of the Founder crew call them the Serica group. Solomon”—Vida touched his arm and the look in her eyes said it all—“Tav said he saw thousands of them.”

  “Damn.” Solomon pressed his thumb and forefinger into the corners of his eyes, trying to focus over Kasen's string of loud expletives.

  What the hell were the Founders thinking? Reach Corp had constructed these ships for them over the course of decades. They had worked far beyond everything they were contractually obligated to do. The Reachers had earned their tickets aboard the last ship to leave Earth. No one had earned it more.

  “Solomon, this could be disastrous for the Reachers,” Vida said.

  He felt his fists tightening involuntarily, but he crossed his arms instead.

  “We'll follow your lead, sir,” Brooker said, his gaze steady and clear.

  Solomon nodded and swept his gaze over them all. “So the Founders—or at least members of Challenge Command—have betrayed us.”

  “Or Nautilus Command, even?” Vida said. “They could have jointly planned this coup.”

  “Does it even matter?” Brooker said. “When all is said and done, the space station and space elevator command crews will be incorporated into the Challenge Command group once the ship launches.”

  “We'll mutiny before they get away with this,” Kasen spat out as he paced around them.

  Solomon shook his head at Kasen and motioned all of them to move away from the girl, Neyve, who now seemed to be hovering nearby. The last thing they needed was to have this news spread. An actual mutiny would get people killed.

  “Vida, did Tavian say anything about how they planned to get us off the ship?” Solomon asked.

  “Tav didn't say, but they'll have a plan. Most likely a ruse. They know we wouldn't go willingly.”

  “But I can't imagine they'd kick us all out,” Solomon countered. “They need key Reacher crew to run and repair systems. Two thousand Reachers alone have been tagged to work on the watch crews during the gatejump to Paradisi. Unless that was also a lie.”

  “They're training Challenge crew in secret, I suppose?” Brooker said.

  “Could be. But that would have taken them months if not years in the planning,” Solomon said. “Which would mean the betrayal goes all the way back to our original contract with the Founding Families.”

  “That's the most critical question,” Vida asked. “Did they always plan to boot us off, or is this a new directive from Challenge Command?”

  “Or the Joint Command Board of Directors?” Kasen piped in.

  “Yes, and maybe they were paid off by these people, whoever they are,” Brooker added.

  “Possibly,” Solomon said. “But with what currency? Earth money will be irrelevant on New Eden.”

  “Those bastards must have something Command wants,” Kasen said.

  Solomon ran a hand down his face, thinking. “Well, practically everyone in the world now knows that the Paradisi pretended mission to Mars was a lie. We've already got terrorists circling our elevator liftports looking for a way on, so maybe a collection of rich or powerful people could have made the Founders an offer they couldn't refuse. Which sector did you say they were in on the space station, Vida? Northern Light?”

  “No, Serica Sector.”

  “That makes sense. It's the closest to Challenge Sector, giving them easy access for boarding.” The Nautilus-11 Space Station was a day's travel away at Lagrange Point 1, partway between the Earth and Moon. At one point, all eleven Asteria-class ships were docked around Nautilus's spiral outer arm back before the first ten ships left for New Eden in 2092. The SS Challenge was the final remaining ship and its docking sector was closest to the central command sector of the main station.

  From Serica Sector, the hidden group could make their way aboard the SS Challenge via one of its three main hatches. Solomon wondered which one they'd take. Probably the Cargo Hatch. It's what he would choose, given that almost all cargo had been stowed away, and activity in the lower half of the ship had quieted down as the launch day approached.

  “It doesn't matter.” Vida touched Solomon's shoulder, as her eyes brightened. “I've got a plan.”

  Solomon raised an eyebrow. “The drive?”

  “Yes. The Cav can be disabled to buy us some time.”

  Solomon frowned. “How?”

  “Don't ask. Plausible deniability is a priceless commodity,” Vida said, a grim smile darkening her expression. “All you need to know is that I'll have Tavian Hunt take care of it, since he's already aboard the SS Challenge. In fact, I'll Ui him now.”

  She set about multitasking as Solomon glanced at Kasen, who shrugged his shoulders.

  “Don't look at me,” Kasen said, eyeing Vida, who ignored him. “I have no idea what she's on about.”

  “Vida, our launch window is a tight three days. We only get one shot to slingshot around Earth.”

  “We'll make it to the wormhole. I'll make sure of it.”

  Solomon frowned again, not at all sure this was useful. “Disabling the Cav would buy us time,” he conceded. “But to what end?”

  “So you can come up with a brilliant plan to save us all,” she said, not looking up from her UiComm.

  “Ah,” was all he could muster.

  Kasen touched Vida's arm. “Keep in mind, Command will know almost immediately, since they've been monitoring the drive tests for the last couple of days.”

  “I know, Kasen, but it can't be helped at this point.�
��

  Solomon had no idea what to do. If he told his Reacher crew about the betrayal, they would inevitably fight back. In all truth, it's what he wanted to do right now. Or at least punch a wall. But Vida, Kasen, and Brooker were staring at him, waiting for their fearless leader to step up. He glanced at the girl, Neyve, who was eyeing him from her perch near the fenestella. Her wide eyes were fixed on him as the setting sun haloed around her shadowed form.

  “Tell us what more we can do and we'll do it,” Vida said, glancing up, her voice back to its sweeter Argentinian lilt.

  It pulled his gaze back to her. “I'll give it some thought,” he said. “But ensure that Tavian doesn't even tell you where he hid the part and plans.”

  “Why?”

  “In case you're also . . . detained.”

  Vida nodded, showing no sign of fear. “And in the meantime, you'll be . . .?”

  “Coming up with a brilliant plan to save five thousand of my crew and their children from certain death,” Solomon finished.

  “No problem,” Kasen said with supreme confidence, slapping him on the back.

  “Yes,” Solomon said, though his voice trailed off as he glanced toward Earth below. “No problem at all.”

  Solomon nudged his boot further under a foothold and pressed his hand against the viewing portal as Lifter 2 rose up the final meters to its Solix Sky Station docking hatch. Beyond the clicking of the lifter's wheels rolling up the ribbon and the voices of the hundreds of crewmembers around him waiting to disembark, Solomon felt the jolt and shudder of connection beneath his hands as the lifter's hatch sealed with the docking module above.

  Strange to think this would be his last ride up. Solomon glanced around, taking in his surroundings. This level was the topmost of ten decks on the lifter. Most of the other levels were sleeping quarters for crew and passengers as well as a smaller number of eating establishments, viewing rooms, and engineering/lab compartments. On this last ride, only a small fraction of the usual capacity of 5,000 people was filled. Almost everyone was already aboard the SS Challenge or Nautilus-11 Space Station out at Earth-Moon Lagrange Point 1, which is where they would shortly be heading as well.

  Everyone waited to disembark in the famous—or rather infamous—Orbital Lounge, which put most mile-high clubs to shame. The bathrooms and darkened corners of the bar were legendary. Not that he'd know anything about that. He was too high in the food chain to ethically date anyone on his own crew and too low class to turn any Founder women's heads. Besides that, he was just too damn busy to think about it most days. He caught them staring at him from time to time, though. His mixed English and African-American race left him with sharp, ice blue eyes, which seemed to surprise everyone he met.

  The lounge was rather quirky, with boxy Earth-viewing drinking rooms, complete with tiny couches sporting footholds and tiny but heavily shielded portholes for those wanting a last long look at Earth while getting righteously sloshed in the process. A beautiful thing, really. The planet-themed décor had fallen into somewhat of a shambles with half the patches featuring the different solar system planets having been ripped off the bar seats by souvenir thieves, and old beer bags littering the air above the bar. Solomon didn't blame the bartenders and janitors. This place would be abandoned in a few days. No point in tidying up.

  A message popped up in Solomon's UiComm HUD, which connected contacts in his eyes to a peripheral display of information on both his internal processes and the surgically implanted communications chip behind his left ear. It was an older technology than the top-of-the-line comms that the Founder crews used, but it also helped to keep Reacher internal communications more private.

  “OPEN MESSAGE.”

  The message appeared to be from Mads Graversen. Not good. He scanned it quickly.

  3 MAY, 2094 20:23:02

  MADS GRAVERSEN, SOLIX LIFTPORT DIRECTOR

  I'VE JUST HEARD FROM PROPULSION THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE CAV. CAN YOU CONFIRM? HAS REACH CORP PERFORMED UNSCHEDULED MAINTENANCE? RESPOND ASAP. I WILL MEET YOU AT THE DOCKING MODULE.

  Damn. Solomon was hoping for a little more time to prepare for the inevitable encounter with his old mentor from MIT. Or was he now Solomon's enemy? He needed to figure out how to squeeze Graversen for information while keeping his mouth shut about everything else.

  Turning to his fidgeting crew, Solomon gazed at them all in turn. Vida was tucking her floating hair further back into her synthetic leather cap while ignoring the ogling Founder men jostling around her. Brooker took to running a hand repeatedly down his face, compelling Solomon to wonder if he'd had enough coffee today. Kasen, as ever, looked ready for a fight.

  “Everyone clear on the plan?” They each gave him a resolute nod. “Let's run it one more time.”

  Kasen spoke up first. “After arriving on Nautilus, I'll make my way to the Challenge Sector to monitor the docking module. If I see any Reachers attempting to leave the ship, I'll redirect them. I'll regroup and debrief with you on Nautilus unless I hear otherwise from you.”

  Solomon nodded once and then focused his attention on Vida.

  “I'll move straight toward the Serica docking module after we arrive on Nautilus, taking care to remain unnoticed. If questioned, I'll say I've been cooped up on Trafero 2 all night and wanted a stretch. I'll access Maintenance Compartment 5A and work to disable and lock the main entrance to the Serica Sector to prevent them from boarding the SS Challenge.”

  “And if Mads Graversen finds you?”

  “I'll let him know I was picking up my favorite tool from my buddy in Serica maintenance so I can start tinkering with the Cav Drive.”

  “Brooker?” Solomon asked.

  “I'll start rumoring an airlock leak in the SS Challenge's Engineering Sector midship so as to cause confusion and distract Command away from our movements.”

  “One other thing,” Solomon added, “and this is critical. I want you to switch on the global Ui tracking system, figure out which Reachers are not aboard the Challenge, and via encrypted Ui tell the stragglers to report immediately to . . . Watch Deck 16, I think, since there's no exit on that level. It will be harder for Command to round up the Reachers and cart them off the ship from there. Do not issue a company-wide message. Too easy for Challenge Security to track that kind of system traffic. And this goes for all of you: send only encrypted messages from here on out—and even then, keep the chatter to emergencies only.”

  Brooker nodded. “Anything else?”

  “Yes, message me—no Vida, as I may be detained—the moment you hear the last Reacher is aboard.” With that thought, Solomon realized he had an ace up his sleeve that he'd completely forgotten about. He began sifting through the code database in his encrypted Ui files while they talked. This was definitely going to buy them some more time.

  “Will do.”

  “And you?” Vida said, turning to Solomon.

  His smile was grim. “I've just had a Ui from Mads Graversen.”

  “He went up in Lifter 1 ahead of us, right?” Brooker asked.

  “Yes, along with the rest of Challenge Command and the board members,” Solomon said. “I plan to question Graversen about what's going on in Serica Sector.”

  “No, he'll find out what we're up to, Sol,” Vida said, her soft voice tinged with sharper notes. “That man is too perceptive.”

  “Agreed. But we need more information. And they may know already what we're up to. Tavian Hunt's earlier message wasn't encrypted.” Solomon found the restricted code he was looking for and changed it to something a bit more memorable. He couldn't seem to wipe the smirk off his face as he glanced up at the sound of Vida's laugh. If he could pull this off, he'd save all the Reachers no matter what Command had planned.

  “Want me to give Mads a little Argentinian charm?” Vida ran a hand down Kasen's arm and winked at him.

  “Graversen does seem to have a thing for you, Vida,” Brooker noted.

  “He what?” Kasen said, his eyes darting around as if he'd challenge Ma
ds to a duel right then and there.

  “Nonsense, Brooker.” Vida gave Kasen a disarming smile, distracting him from his sudden bloodlust. “Mads Graversen doesn't have a single warm-blooded bone in his body.”

  The opening of the lifter's docking hatch in the ceiling above provided another distraction. On Solix Sky Elevator, crew took precedence over passengers in the line up, so Solomon and his crew were the first to begin disembarking, which was always a surreal experience. The sight of hundreds of people lifting off the floor and rising up through the docking hatch always reminded Solomon of a flutter of butterflies taking flight.

  Today, however, Solomon had no time to marvel at the strangeness of it. He shoved off the deck floor toward the hatch. It was always a bit awkward to return to weightlessness again. The dread of what lay ahead mixed with the lightness of his body, and it all settled uncomfortably in the pit of his queasy stomach.

  He had lived on Nautilus-11 Space Station and the SS Challenge for years, but they both had artificial gravity generators, so the weightlessness on the Solix Sky Space Elevator was usually a pleasant change. It would take him only minutes to grow accustomed to micro-G again.

  They hadn't been on the ground for overlong this time. Just a series of short meetings down at the Solix Liftport to discuss the elevator's decommissioning and security protocols after the SS Challenge's departure from the solar system. More and more terrorist groups were learning about the Founders' true mission and threatening to overrun Earth's three elevators near the Indonesian, Galápagos, and Maldives island chains. The majority of the cost involved in running the elevators was in security alone. No other ships had been authorized to leave Earth due to lack of funding for the four critical elements needed for deep space travel: a Cavitran Drive, a thorium reactor to power it, an artificial gravity generator, and cryo capability. Anyone left on Earth had no hope of escape. What they did have was the promise of death, either by natural disaster or man-made weapons.

  All of the bigwigs had been at the meetings: the Joint Command Board of Directors, Challenge Command, Janus Corp security personnel, and various other higher ups in the astrophysics and engineering departments aboard Solix Sky Elevator and Nautilus-11 Space Station. The meetings had been tense, secretive, and to the point. Mads had been distracted and irritable during the meetings, which was unusual. Graversen had a calculating personality, and every issue brought to his attention would be weighed and measured with cold precision. When challenged, Mads would stare down his opponent with stone-grey eyes, demanding subordination through sheer force of will.