Baldwin's Legacy: The Complete Series

by Hystad, Nathan

  Ven considered his words. “I have no choice. I will ride in the vessel.” His hand shook slightly, and he began focusing on a flame in the edge of his mind. Brax had taught him the trick when they’d left Nolix and flown to Constantine. The flame is life. Ven repeated the mantra to himself and already felt better.

  Once they were all strapped in, the shuttle rose from the hangar floor, and Ven noticed that Brax was brave enough to pilot the ship.

  The shuttle headed outside the energy barrier of the hangar wall, and Ven spotted the blue ice planet in the viewer. It was a beautiful sight, and his breath caught in his throat. How could life exist there? It was so unwelcoming, yet it drew him in nonetheless. Ven was quickly learning that the universe was a harsh place, with very few safe locations for people to live.

  Tarlen looked the most excited about seeing the prison world, and Ven continued to visualize the flame in his mind’s eye as they lowered toward their destination.

  Two

  Being on Andron was a unique experience. Tom recalled the layout surprisingly well and nodded to the guards as he moved through the corridors toward the bridge. He wanted their encounter to be on his terms, not in her suite.

  The bridge doors opened, and Tom tried to imagine Constantine and his executive crew fending off the Statu warships from this spot. Tom set the drinks down and walked to the captain’s chair, running a hand along the top of the seat. Would someone look fondly at his own cruise ship’s bridge one day like this? His own grandson, perhaps? Tom would have to find a partner before he could even consider the notion, and the way things were going, he wouldn’t have time for that any time soon.

  The guard opened the doors, and Seda walked in. Her timing couldn’t have been any better. She was as beautiful as ever: long dark flowing hair, her robes white in contrast to her dark features. She had small charms dangling from her tresses, and he didn’t think she looked like much of a prisoner.

  “I brought you these. I thought Luci might be with you,” Tom said, pointing to the drinks.

  She smiled, reaching for one. Before she spoke, she took a sip, her face lighting up. “You remembered.”

  “You’re a difficult woman to forget, Seda.” Tom grabbed one of the other cups and took a drink of the sweet concoction. It had been years since he’d tasted one, and it brought him back to that hot summer all those years ago. He didn’t want to recall any of it fondly. She’d betrayed him, and so had Lark Keen.

  “Tom…” She stepped forward, her hand outstretched.

  He moved away. “Don’t.”

  “It wasn’t supposed to be like this. My father…”

  “Are you always going to blame that man for your actions?” Tom was getting frustrated, and he didn’t want to be so worked up. He needed to compose himself. He was the captain of a cruise ship, not a heartbroken kid.

  “It was his idea to find someone at the Academy. Someone strong. Someone important.” Her gaze dropped to the floor. It all made more sense now.

  “I was a target,” he whispered. “He wanted the great Constantine Baldwin’s grandson to join the Assembly.”

  “Could you imagine if you’d returned a decade later at the head of the Assembly? You would have made a real difference,” she told him.

  “What happened?” Tom asked. Surprisingly, learning that Seda never did care for him was somehow easier on his mind.

  “I knew you wouldn’t listen to him. You loved the Concord too much. When I talked to you about wanting to join, you spoke with such passion. It was clear from our first date that the Assembly was wasting their time,” she said.

  Tom was beginning to see the picture more clearly. “And you latched on to Keen, another strong Concord name.”

  She nodded. “That’s right. Or my father did. I was inconsolable when I was forced to cut ties with you.”

  “Sure. So damaged that you had Keen to console you. None of that matters now. What did you want to discuss?” Tom asked. He could see that they’d stopped at Bolux Nine, and the ice world loomed just out of sight of the active viewer centering the bridge. Tom peered toward the left edge, wanting to catch a glimpse that wasn’t visible.

  Seda stepped forward, her tone pleading. “Don’t separate us. He’s not a bad man.”

  Tom laughed, moving away from her. “Stay where you are. Lark tried to kill me, and he wanted to take over the Concord. You think we’re going to let you two remain together?”

  Her eyes darkened as she scowled at him. “You were always self-righteous, just like your grandfather.”

  “Is that what your father told you?” he asked. A thought struck him, and he needed to ask the question. “What happened to him?”

  Her frown softened at the mention of the old man. Tom remembered him well enough from the couple of visits to her home. He’d been gray-haired even then, and skinnier than he should have been.

  “He passed.”

  “Is that so? Are you lying to me?” he asked.

  “No. He was killed in a mission, years ago.”

  Tom assumed the old man would have died at home in the comfort of his bed. He gained little satisfaction at learning the truth. “Good.” His words were harsh, but he meant them. The man had bred terrorists, and turned Keen against him and the Concord. No fate was too evil for Seda’s father.

  “You won’t reconsider?” Seda asked.

  “About keeping you with Lark?”

  “He’s a good father,” she said. “Luci will be lost without him.”

  Tom laughed again. “If he’s such a poster child for fatherhood, why did he try to take over, even when his daughter’s life was in our hands?”

  “The sacrifice of our hearts is the ultimate price,” she said.

  “Don’t twist the Code to your means. We’ll be dropping your husband off as soon as the prisoners are settled,” he said.

  “And us?” Seda asked.

  “You and me?” Tom clenched a fist.

  “No. Luci and me.”

  “I’m in a good mood today, so consider yourself lucky. You’re staying here, but not at the prison with the others.” Tom moved to the helm console and changed the viewer to show the planet below.

  Seda tensed at the sight. “There?”

  “There.” Tom zoomed, checking to ensure the coordinates were right and focused. The valley was deep, the mountain ridges of ice high.

  “You expect us to survive in that desolate place?” she asked.

  He shrugged. “Survive? I’m not sure it matters.”

  “Tom, you’re not the same person I fell in love with. What happened to you?” she asked, a tear rolling down her cheek.

  Tom didn’t feel anything but anger at her casual use of the word. “Save it. I’m not buying what you’re selling. You may have been able to trick Keen into becoming a fool, but not me. I’m to deliver you to your new home, as per the new Prime. He doesn’t want anyone to know where you went.”

  “And we go alone?” she asked, making Tom nervous.

  “We go alone.”

  ____________

  “Welcome to Bolux Nine,” the man said as they stepped from the shuttle. Treena lowered her skin sensors as she walked across the hangar toward their host. Warden Minhaus lifted his arms, as if to hug her, but they settled beside his narrow hips.

  “You didn’t have to greet us here, Warden,” Treena said. The hangar was sealed off, snow falling above and melting as it hit the energy field directly over them.

  “Nonsense. What kind of a tour guide would I be then?” Minhaus sniffled and pointed to a row of lockers at the edge of the hangar. “Please, select a jacket.”

  “Surely the ride is not far?” Ven asked from her side.

  “You will want the warmth. Nothing here is to be taken for granted. One slip-up, and you’re dead. If the cold doesn’t kill you, the wild Garnlots will.” Minhaus grinned despite his dark words.

  Treena didn’t want to encounter one of these Garnlots if she could help it. Tarlen was the first to cross the dis
tance, and he popped a locker open, pulling out a thick animal-hide coat.

  Treena arrived and touched the jacket, glancing at the warden. “Don’t we have superior synthetics?”

  “Nothing replaces the insulation of the local Rilopher. They traverse the peaks at well below fifty degrees Celsius and live to tell the tale. Put the coats on and come,” he said, waving them forward.

  “I could get used to this,” Brax said, buttoning his up.

  “You might want to find something for your head,” Treena told the bald man with a laugh, and he didn’t wait a second to flip the heavy hood on.

  “Voilà,” he replied.

  Tarlen was swimming in a coat, and Treena found one that fit just right. “Guess they don’t have many size-small Bacal,” the kid said.

  Brax leaned in. “Maybe you can borrow the warden’s. He’s about your size.”

  Ven was already near the exit, hovering beside the warden, and Treena waved to the others to follow. “Let’s not dawdle. If it suits you all, I’d prefer to be in and out. Once we have the prisoners unloaded, we can move on.”

  “I’m with you.” Brax pressed on the door, and they were instantly bombarded by a gust of freezing cold wind, snow blustering around them.

  “Awesome,” Tarlen said, almost knocked over by the weather assault. Treena caught him and blinked toward the lights of the prison in the distance. They were a kilometer from the huge walls of the encampment.

  The warden directed them to the waiting transport, a hovering bus made to seat a hundred. The dark blue thrusters glowed as they fired up, and he yelled into the wind. “We don’t let any ships land within a kilometer radius of our facility. It’s safer this way!”

  Treena nodded and waited until the others were loaded into the vehicle before stepping on. Brax’s hand rested on his hip where his PL-30 sat waiting, and she was glad to have brought the chief of security along for the ride.

  Tarlen was already sitting on the front bench, staring at the prison. Treena sat beside him and saw how difficult visibility was in the storm. “Is it always like this?” she asked the warden.

  He took the driver’s seat and laughed, a strange cackle. “No. Sometimes we have storms.”

  The bus lifted and began moving forward, and Treena cast her gaze out the side windows, seeing columns of ice rising from the hard-packed ground. Their lights glimmered and reflected off the smooth surfaces, reminding her of sparkling jewels.

  “This prison is one of many on Bolux Nine. It’s known as Cliffside.” The warden’s neck craned back as he spoke and drove. Treena was surprised to see the man driving the transport himself. He truly was an enigma.

  “I can see why you named it this,” Ven said, pointing out the front window. For the first time, Treena saw the immense wall of ice. It stretched for a kilometer or so beyond the four square walls of the prison, dwarfing the huge structure.

  “How many prisoners are in Cliffside?” Tarlen asked.

  “Two hundred and twelve,” the warden said. “Sorry. Two hundred and eleven. We had an incident last night.”

  Treena didn’t ask what the event entailed. “That doesn’t sound like many.”

  The transport bus came to a halt outside the looming wall as they neared it. The doors began to spread wide very slowly, and the warden took this opportunity to explain. “Imagine the most terrible two hundred beings in the universe. Now take them all and shove them in a box on an ice world. You’re at Cliffside.”

  Brax appeared interested. “You’re saying they all come here?”

  “Have you heard of Gideo the Gruesome?” Warden Minhaus asked.

  “Sure, he killed something like four hundred thousand of his own people when they wouldn’t give him access to a specific mineral found in their planet’s rings,” Brax said. “Wait, are you saying that Gideo is here?”

  “That’s right, my boy,” the warden said, and Tarlen blanched.

  “It’s a good thing we have you to watch over them all,” Treena told him.

  “Yes. Yes, it’s a good thing. Someone has to do it.” The gate was unlocked, and the warden opened the door, letting two drones on board. They were fist-sized, and floated through the bus, stopping to scan each of them one at a time. When they departed, the warden stood.

  “It’s a good thing they didn’t find anything illegal on you.” The warden stood, exiting the bus.

  Treena followed him, asking the logical. “Why’s that?”

  “Because they would have vaporized you.”

  Treena turned to glance at Brax, who was carrying a gun. “What about his weapon?”

  Minhaus waved a dismissive hand. “There are drones everywhere. They’d kill him before he could fire it.” They were inside the walls here, safe from the freezing cold and snow, but she still caught Ven chattering beside her.

  “You good?” she asked the mysterious Ugna.

  “I am well,” he replied.

  She hadn’t found an opportunity to connect with the man, but since he’d been deemed dead, then returned to Constantine, he’d been even more isolated than ever. Treena vowed to change their relationship.

  “This way.” The warden opened a door, and they entered a well-lit corridor. The walls were the same dark stone, the sheer volume of lights making up for the underground feeling. “As I was saying, Cliffside boasts two hundred and eleven of the most deadly and notorious masterminds the Concord has ever had the displeasure of meeting. They are responsible for at least a combined ten million deaths, and countless other appalling deeds.”

  The corridor ended, and Minhaus paused, staring into each of their eyes from beyond his oversized spectacles. “Are you ready for this?” he asked.

  Treena didn’t like the showmanship he was putting on. Only Tarlen seemed into it, and he nodded vehemently.

  Minhaus entered a code onto a keypad, and the door slid open. “I give you...Cliffside.”

  ____________

  Reeve was left alone back on Constantine again. She didn’t mind, though. By all accounts, the world below was a dreadful one, and she had no interest in wandering around a building full of horrible people any more than she wanted to fend off the Assembly again.

  The bridge was quiet, the second-shift crew surrounding her. She liked them well enough, but she’d been bored sitting there for the last few hours with nothing to do. Reeve preferred tinkering away in the boiler room. Yephion had sent her the latest work-throughs on the wormhole generators, and Reeve had been toying with the parameters, content that they were on the right track.

  According to Admiral Jalin Benitor, that meant war. Reeve feared returning to the Statu system and hoped they had more time before it happened. She’d heard promises of a bigger Concord fleet, but had yet to see any more of the newly-designed flagships. Having the Ugna would be an asset, as long as they obeyed orders. Captain Wan of Faithful hadn’t, resulting in his and his crew’s deaths, thanks to Lark Keen and his cronies.

  Those people all deserved their sentences; of that Reeve was sure. “Hurry up,” she whispered to herself, directing the comment at the captain and commander. Baldwin was escorting Seda and Luci to some unknown destination, which had really upset Brax and Treena to no end. He’d assured them he’d be fine, but no one wanted the captain of the ship to put himself at risk. Still, it had been the Prime’s mandate, so they didn’t object too hard.

  Lieutenant Darl was whistling as he sat at ready from his helm posting in Ven’s usual seat, and it took all Reeve’s energy to not throw something at the man. “Darl,” she said, needing to distract him and herself, “any signs of incoming traffic?”

  Darl tapped the screen a few times and shook his head. “Nothing, ma’am.”

  Ma’am. She’d always hated being called that. “Are there any objects nearby that would be large enough to hide behind?” Reeve stood, stretching her legs. She’d been spending too many hours at a desk. She needed to get some exercise, maybe play a Vulti match with her brother. He always beat her, but at least she sw
eated like hell when they played.

  “Hide behind?”

  “Yeah. Hide behind. A rock, a planetoid, a moon.”

  “Are you planning on hiding us?” Darl asked.

  She bit her tongue. Be nice, Reeve. He’s not asking you anything stupid. “Just check, Lieutenant.”

  He ran a few scans, and the viewer showed his results. “There are at least three objects within fifty thousand kilometers that could house a vessel cruiser-sized or smaller.”

  Reeve considered this. Since she had nothing else to do, she kept going. “Okay, send probes to all three.” She stared at the zoomed images of the debris. One appeared to be a piece of an old vessel, floating lifelessly in space. One was a below-average moon orbiting the ice world. It was the closest to them. The last was a misshapen hunk of rock, and it was drifting away from them quite slowly.

  “Probes dispatched.” Darl turned and grinned at her. “Anything else you’d like me to do, ma’am?”

  She glowered at him. She really wished someone else was in charge of the bridge.

  Three

  Tom didn’t expect a lot of resistance from Seda, but even if she didn’t have a weapon, he assumed she was trained to fight in some manner or another. She was still in shape, and he’d placed energy tethers on her arms to detain her as he piloted Cleo toward his destination.

  Luci sat beside him, staring through the viewer. “Where are we going?” she asked in a tiny voice.

  “To your new home,” Tom told her.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You and your mommy are going to live here for a while,” Tom said. He almost wished he’d tied her up and left her out back too.

  “I miss Daddy,” she whined.

  “I know you do.”

  “Where is he?”

  Tom didn’t have the heart to lie to the small child. “Your father did some bad things. He tried to hurt people, so he’s been sent away.”