HADRON Axiom

by Stephen Arseneault

  The sergeant frowned. “Not us, Mr. Hardy. A new resistance has formed around a commander from D.C. They’ve figured out how to hijack the Mawga comm devices for their own use. I’ve already lost a third of my guys to them. They may be taking action, but I don’t see them accomplishing anything.”

  Mace replied, “They’ve been stealing the reactors that power those centers, but without an everspark to light them off again, they’re useless.”

  Mace pulled the small device from the pouch on his suit. “This is what they need, and I can’t provide it to them. The Mawga know I have it. Besides, they have no use for the reactors. Power is free to all the surrounding areas. What would they do with them?”

  The sergeant shrugged. “Don’t know, Mr. Hardy. I think they’re taking them just to take them. Where I couldn’t say.”

  A comm came in from the admiral. “Captain, I take it things have settled there?”

  Mace shook his head. “Not really. They just shot a rocket up at us. Didn’t do any damage. Not sure what we’re doing here, Admiral. The sergeant and his men are not responsible for this attack. Same with the others. The holdouts we had loosely organized are not the ones doing this. There’s a militant faction out there. Just give us some time to figure out how to deal with them and I believe things will settle down.”

  The admiral frowned. “We would like to begin reconstruction as soon as possible, Captain. Is the sergeant willing to provide us with security?”

  Jack Holmes half laughed. “Not a chance.”

  Mace replied, “Not going to happen, Admiral.”

  The admiral looked sternly into the comm. “Mr. Hardy, I would then ask that you move to only a skeleton crew on the Lousy. Use your people to secure the area in a peaceful way. The ship will be there as a symbol.”

  Mace pulled back. “You want us to put our people on the ground?”

  The admiral nodded. “It is your people who are already on the ground, Mr. Hardy. The ship above, and your willingness to offer security, will show the others they do not need to fight us. Show them Humans are our allies.”

  Mace winced. “I’m not sure I would agree with that tactic, Admiral. I don’t want to get any of my people shot.”

  The admiral straightened up. “I’m afraid I must insist, Captain. Unless the holdouts understand that we are on the side of the Humans, these attacks will continue.”

  Mace took a deep breath. “Mr. Daughtry, see to it that the crew is brought down. No weapons. We aren’t looking for a fight. Just bring them here and we’ll spread around the area to secure it, for whatever our presence is worth.”

  Coran Daughtry replied, “Expect them there within ten minutes, Captain. And for what’s it’s worth, I agree with you.”

  The sergeant shook his head. “That’s a risky move, Mr. Hardy. Some of these guys won’t have issues shooting someone they think is a traitor.”

  Mace removed his arm pad, handing it to his first officer before walking twenty meters away with the sergeant. “Do you think we’re traitors, Mr. Holmes?”

  The sergeant looked up at the large warship hovering over their heads. “I’m not sure what to think, Mr. Hardy. You’re wearing their gear, you���re flying their boats. What should I make of it?”

  Mace replied, “What you should make of it is that we have control of one of their warships. I can’t believe they would entrust it to us, but they say another species is coming, one that is far more hostile. And they wanted us to be a part of defending this planet. Other than those who have fought against them, Sergeant, they have shown no hostilities toward us. They claim that when the centers are complete and when industry and agriculture have returned, they will remove the drug from the food. They claim their purpose is to speed our overall recovery. A part of me sees the wisdom of their plan, even if I don’t like it.”

  The sergeant crossed his arms. “Sounds like you’ve been drinking the Mawga Kool-Aid, Mr. Hardy.”

  Mace clenched a fist in frustration. “Not a chance, Sergeant. There’s no one more suspicious of their motives than I am. Through this effort, I now know how they conduct war, I know their ships and how they operate, I know their weaknesses and exactly what they do to protect them. Consider all this the price I have to pay to find out those motives. Heck, they might just round us up and space us one day. Until then though, the closer to them we can get, the better chance we have of knowing exactly why they’re really here.”

  The sergeant returned an apprehensive look. “I see the merit of your reasoning, Mr. Hardy. Just keep in mind, every minute you are studying them, they are studying you. Try not to give up any of our secrets during your quest. We’re already the big underdogs here.”

  Mace nodded. “We’ve already had these discussions, Sergeant. We want nothing less than total control of this planet back in Human hands. I think we’ve all declared a silent war here, we’ve just chosen different methods to fight it.”

  Several shuttles landed. All but five of the Human crew was now on the ground.

  Liam Hobbs looked up at the Lousy. “What’s our mission down here, Captain?”

  Mace pointed at the smoldering building. “Split into teams of three. Surround the building and then move out to five hundred yards or thereabouts. We’re just here as a deterrent to the attackers���peacekeepers, if you will, so the others can begin their rebuilding efforts.”

  Liam scowled. “Without weapons?”

  Mace nodded. “Afraid so, Mr. Hobbs. These are all our own people, so we don’t want to be shooting them. We’re just here to persuade them to leave us alone.”

  Liam shook his head. “Not much of a plan, Mr. Hardy.”

  Mace half smiled. “Not what I would do, anyway. But the admiral insisted we do this. They seem to think it will help.”

  Liam looked up. “Looks like we have company. Who’s up there?”

  Mace retrieved his arm pad, strapping it back on. “Admiral, this is Hardy. What’s going on up there?”

  The admiral’s image came on the screen. “My apologies, Mr. Hardy. There has been a change in plans. It seems the Kaachi ships came through the rift and then headed off in the other direction. We believe our efforts here to now be secure, and as such the Lousy will be returned to her former crew.

  “Again, I apologize for this maneuver, Mr. Hardy. Our command thought it best. Your remaining crewmen will be rejoining you shortly. After that, you will each be returned to your homes.”

  The sergeant laughed. “Wow, they just took back their starship without firing a shot.”

  Mace looked up with an expression of anger. “So, the threat of the Kaachi dries up and so does our alliance. Oh, and, Sergeant, something you should know: the Mawga know about our laser comm devices. They just don’t seem to care, which tells me they’re probably useless. We might want to think about switching over to whatever the new resistance is using.”

  The sergeant replied, “We’ve known that for a while, Mr. Hardy. Haven’t used those for anything of importance for a while. What you gonna do now?”

  Mace shrugged. “Not sure. Guess we all get back to our lives until we figure something out. I’ll at least be pushing for the release of our people from those drugs. Don’t think the Mawga will comply, but I’ll try.”

  Johnny and Jane stood beside Mace. “Well, that whole effort was a bust.”

  Mace put his hand on Johnny’s shoulder. “Sure looks that way, although we do know how to fly one of those should we ever have the opportunity to take control. And we now have a full understanding of what we’re up against should we choose to fight.”

  Jane said, “At least we got Tres and Vanessa back. Maybe we work on recapturing a few of the local farmers so we can get the co-ops working again.”

  Mace shook his head. “Whatever it is we’ll be doing, it looks like we’ll have plenty of time to think about it.”

  Jeff said, “Sounds like I’ll be lighting off the still again.”

  Jasper scowled. “That mean you’re all moving bac
k?”

  Johnny nodded. “You’re stuck with us, old man.”

  Vanessa and Tres walked up behind them. “What do we do now?”

  The first shuttle landed behind them for a pick-up.

  Mace sighed. “The only thing we can do… we go home.”

  ~~~~~

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  HADRON

  (Vol. 3)

  Incursion

  Chapter 3.1

  *

  The weeks that followed saw life at the cave returning to normal. The still was brought back into operation, the gardens tended, and the other efforts toward making life sustainable resumed.

  Liam Hobbs sat on the porch with the others. “Not that I’m complaining about the hospitality here, but we were promised a return home. Why again is that not happening?”

  Mace frowned. “The only thing I can think of is that they want to keep us together. Why that is, I don’t know. It’s obvious they don’t need us for anything.”

  Jane said, “Well, at least they left us enough of those untainted food bars to last us a while. That will go a long way toward keeping us fed this winter.”

  Jeff stood from the steps, brushing dirt from his shorts. “One thing that’s been bothering me���this food, they claim it is all from Earth, but where on Earth are they getting it from?”

  Tres said, “Rumor has it they have farms out west and elsewhere that the zombies are tending.”

  Jeff replied, “While that might be possible, I find it highly unlikely. You don’t just come in and start producing millions of tons of produce that they repackage into these food bars. If anything, I’d say they are made with the same stuff as before. Maybe a few extra flavorings to mask the drug, anything that would give them a different taste.”

  Johnny said, “That would mean they must have a huge stockpile somewhere. They aren’t bringing it in by ship. Those diplomatic ships only carry a small amount. And those warships are not transporting food.”

  Mace scratched his beard. “Bontu promised a visit this week. I’ll see what I can drag out of him. Sometimes his denials are very telling.”

  Jasper rocked back and forth in his chair. “I have an opinion on all this.”

  Johnny said, “Of course you do. You have an opinion on just about everything.”

  Jasper replied, “Well, yes, I do, ape-man. Anyway, I have two good reasons for them keeping us all here. The first, and most obvious, is the threat of the Kaachi is still out there. If they show up, they want to stuff us on a ship and throw us at them.

  “The second is we know too much, and it’s easier for them to keep an eye on us this way. They’re probably spying on us right now.”

  Mace looked around. “Everyone did leave their comm devices inside didn’t they?”

  Nods showed confirmation.

  Another dozen of the Human crewmen walked down the drive.

  Jasper stood. “We’re gonna need more chairs.”

  Jordan Crawford stopped in front of the gift shop. “Mr. Hardy, we’re gonna head back over to Bedford in the morning. We have family and friends there, and places of our own to take care of.”

  Mace replied, “I have no interest in stopping you, Mr. Crawford. If you were looking for approval, you don’t need it from me.”

  Jordan nodded. “Just the same, wanted you to know.”

  Mace said, “And take enough to easily feed your fifty-seven for a week. No, wait, we have vehicles, we can drive you. Might take three trips, but we can get you all there in a day.”

  Jordan nodded. “That would be appreciated, Mr. Hardy.”

  Mace leaned back in his chair. “Well, there goes two thirds of our force. When I talk to Bontu, I’ll see about getting him to take the rest of you home.”

  Two men in fatigues emerged from the woods on the mountain, walking across the field, over the bridge and up to the gift shop.

  One of the men took a pack off his back as he spoke into a Mawga wrist comm. “Yes, sir, we’re here now.”

  The man looked up. “Which one of you is Hardy?”

  Mace stood. “I’m Mace Hardy. Who’s asking?”

  The man spat on the ground. “The new king would like to talk to you.”

  Mace smirked. “The new king?”

  The man nodded. “Yes sir, the man who’s leading the fight against the grays.”

  Mace stepped off the porch holding out his hand. “OK, well, here I am. And your name is…”

  The man looked down and then back at Mace. “The king would like to know just what it is you’re doing? You’ve been seen riding around with the enemy, and we were told at one point you crewed and piloted a warship.”

  The man gestured for him to follow. “Come this way, Mr. Hardy. We have some things to discuss in private.”

  Mace looked back at the porch. Jane was standing with her AR-15 at the ready. Mace waved her off.

  “My name is Bains, but that doesn’t matter. I was sent here to kill you for collaborating with the enemy.”

  Mace stopped. “Strange way to assassinate someone, don’t you think?”

  Bains replied, “I’m not paid to think, just to kill. But you’re right, I do think. And what I want to know before I make things permanent, is what you were doing with the rats?”

  Mace continued to walk. “We were told that another species was on its way here, to Earth. They���re hostile to the Mawga, and supposedly would be more hostile toward Humans. The Mawga seem genuinely afraid of them. They called them the Kaachi. After speaking with the admiral in charge of the Mawga fleet, we convinced him to train us in the operation of their warships so we could be a part of the defense of Earth should the Kaachi come.

  “Well, the Kaachi didn’t come and now the Mawga have backed out of their deal. We were hoping to keep and maintain a cruiser, possibly to one day use it against them. You see, Mr. Bains, we hardly trust the Mawga ourselves.”

  Bains nodded. “Interesting. And why did you give up the ship?”

  Mace frowned. “They pulled a fast one on us. You guys���at least I’m assuming it was you���anyway, you attacked the community center at Charleston. They conned us into thinking we were there to keep the peace. They used that opportunity to kick us from the ship. We all feel very foolish about it.”

  Bains shook his head. “Can’t trust the rats, Mr. Hardy. Their motives aren’t true.”

  Mace stopped, crossing his arms. “Mr. Bains, we’re on the same side. We just have different methods of approaching the problem. We would both like to see them gone. Some of us plan and scheme, while others like yourselves hit and run, and still others, like the Russians and the Chinese, go all out.”

  Bains asked, “What do you know about those last two?”

  Mace replied, “The Mawga think they’ll have all resistance there mopped up in a month. Both have been getting their asses kicked. And get this, the Chinese are down to a population of about eighty million. The Mawga said the weapons of both are almost depleted. The Russians are down to their last thousand resisters.”

  Bains said, “Interesting. We knew they were fighting. We just weren���t sure of how it was going.”

  Mace glanced up at the sky. “Those small ships they fly around here in, they call them diplomatic vessels. Those are the ones the Russians and Chinese have been fighting. They aren’t heavily armored. A handful of stinger-type m
issiles will bring one down. According to my contact, they’ve lost at least a couple dozen of those ships, and probably double that of their shuttles.

  “Now, you move up to their warships, the ones in space, they’re huge. The armor is far thicker and the cannons far more powerful. You could hit one with a hundred stingers and not do much more than scratch the paint. And if they fire one of those cannons at the ground, it���ll leave a crater ten yards deep and forty yards across. About the only positive is it takes a few seconds to recharge and fire. And they can only fire one cannon at a time.”

  Bains said, “I’ll take that information back to the king. And I’ll tell him we had this talk. He said he’s been by this cave before. Doesn’t look like much to me.”

  Mace replied, “Well, it’s a cave. Other than running for miles, its claim to fame is one of history. Up to eleven hundred rebels lived in here for three winters during the Civil War. And it did keep us alive last winter. So does this king have a name, Mr. Bains?”

  Bains nodded. “His name is Malcolm Stark. He’s the one leader that can take us out of this hole we dug ourselves into. He has no fear of the Mawga or their ships. We will move like the wind and strike when they least expect it. Our numbers and support network are growing every day. Soon, all of the resisters will fall in line behind him. I can say here today, I hope that includes you and the others here. He’ll be pleased to learn that we have people who can pilot those ships.”

  Mace frowned. “Sounds like he’s been feeding you the same food the Mawga have been feeding everyone.”

  Bains��� face turned to one of scold and anger. “You best be careful, Mr. Hardy. If he deems your existence counter to the rebellion, I’ll be back. And believe me when I say that a second visit won’t be so cordial. I’ll return the information you’ve given. You work on how we can rid ourselves of these rats, and on how you can cooperate with us to do so. That’s all I have to say today, Mr. Hardy. You won’t see me or my associate again.”

  Bains waved over at his friend. They walked back across the bridge, up through the field and into the woods at the foot of the mountains. Mace returned to the porch, rubbing his temples.