The Daltus Conspiracy

by Andrew Gates

  “Shooh!” Ellen cried out through her broken jaw. It was the best she could do to say the word shoot.

  Dave squeezed the trigger, sending a blast of laser fire right past Ellen. She heard a thud, followed by a gasp in pain. Ellen finally stopped running and turned.

  Boltoc’s chest smoked, but he continued along nonetheless.

  “Shooh agay!” Ellen shouted, trying her best to say shoot again.

  Dave got the message and shot again and again and again, hitting him center mass with each consecutive shot. It took four shots to ultimately bring Boltoc down. The merc trembled on the ground, holding onto his burnt chest.

  Ellen, Dave, I think I can get the ship running without any type of passcode or verification. It looks like Boltoc set it up to override the previously established security measures, Lyla said to them both.

  He must have stolen the ship from someone else, Gloria noted.

  Quick, everyone get inside while we have the chance! Yuri ordered.

  Dave quickly ran up the ship and climbed inside. Only seconds later, the engines began to hum. Meanwhile, Ellen stayed behind.

  Weapons systems online, Lyla reported. Want me to shoot this fucker?

  Hold fire, Ellen ordered as she remained in the street.

  She straightened her back and stared at Boltoc. The wounded merc slowly stopped squirming and sat up. His chest still smoked as if it were on fire. Ellen could see his chest rise and fall with each gasp for air. There was something about the way he moved that was so familiar. She knew she had seen it before.

  Ellen, what are you doing? We need to go! Yuri said.

  I can’t. I have too many questions.

  He will kill you.

  Then Lyla will blast him to smithereens, Ellen replied.

  She walked toward him and stopped mere feet away. She stared down at him as he stared back up.

  “Ellen, Ellen, Ellen, I admit, I didn’t think you had it in you to beat me,” Boltoc said, tauntingly.

  “Who you?” she replied, unable to say much more with her broken jaw.

  “Who am I? I already told you. I am Boltoc.”

  “How you know me?”

  Boltoc grinned and slowly shook his head. He let out a deep sigh.

  “Still can’t figure it out, huh? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. You clearly never cared for my father. It must have been easy for you to let him die.”

  “Father? Who is father?”

  “Goddamn, you truly know nothing, do you, Ellen Milsen?” Boltoc sat up straight and stared into her eyes. “My father was a good man. He believed in Mateo, in our people. He helped form the Star Shapers, the resistance against you corporate Vexa Corp dogs. That was before you blasted him and his fellow patriots from space like cowards.”

  “Not part of that,” Ellen said. She gushed up blood with every word.

  “You may not have led the attack, but you are part of Vexa Corp, aren’t you? Isn’t that why you left your home?”

  “I was pilot. I flew escort,” she explained. “Different mission.”

  “But you were one of them nonetheless. You wore the Vexa Corp uniform.” Boltoc closed his eyes and sighed. “You betrayed us. You were from Horron Fields, you raised your son to work the farm away from corporate influence. But then you left Mateo, you left our people, to join the cowards who killed my father.”

  “Who is father?” Ellen asked again.

  Boltoc slowly opened his eyes and met her gaze. He chuckled.

  “You really don’t know, do you?” he asked. He wiped some sweat from his face and cleared his throat. “My father was named Blake. He was your son.”

  “My… my…” Ellen could not believe it. She froze, unable to move a single muscle. It was as if she were back in stasis.

  Blake, innocent Blake. She could see him now, burning in flames. It was just like her nightmare. Everything happened just as she imagined.

  Ellen, we need to go. He’s getting in your head, Yuri said.

  But… but it all makes sense now. It explains why he looks so familiar, why he knows so much about me. Why didn’t I see it earlier?

  He doesn’t know anything about you. He blames you for Blake’s death. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

  He’s just confused, that’s all. He’s looking for a scapegoat, a way to get revenge. It doesn’t mean he is a bad person.

  Be that as it may, he is still a dangerous person. You have to go, Yuri replied.

  “Ellen, get the hell out of there!” Dave shouted from the open cockpit, as if right on cue.

  Ellen blinked her eyes and shook her head, as if suddenly coming back to reality. Boltoc slowly began to stand up again. Even after four blasts to the chest, he was unstoppable.

  As much as Ellen hated to admit it, Yuri was right. Family or not, Boltoc would not stop until she was dead.

  Wasting no more time, Ellen quickly turned and ran to the ship. She crawled aboard. Once inside the crammed space, Dave lowered the cockpit window shut.

  “I’ve got the controls,” Dave said, pressing a few icons before him. Ellen had never seen him so confident.

  “I’ve got the weapons. Should we fire?” Lyla added.

  “No!” Ellen suddenly shot back. She stared at Lyla. “Do not shoot.”

  “What? Why?” Lyla asked.

  “Dave, get us out of here,” Ellen ordered, ignoring Lyla’s question.

  “Roger that.” The ship slowly rose from the ground.

  “Are you serious? We’re just going to let him live?” Lyla continued.

  “Yes!” Ellen shot back, unable to say much more with her damaged jaw.

  “But why? You never answered my question!”

  Because, Yuri interrupted, Boltoc is Ellen’s grandson.

  Lyla’s face suddenly went white. Her mouth opened wide.

  “Holy shit,” she said.

  A Silent Observer

  Earth Date (Revised Julian Calendar): 05.04.5673

  Location: Navigation Control Room, VSC Patriot, Outer edge of Thrace System, Vexa Corp Controlled Space

  Captain Daltus was supposed to be monitoring space traffic in the system, but her attention was anywhere but on the holo. She clenched her fists as security footage from the center city of Neu Taargus danced across her eyes. She practically held her breath as the events unfolded.

  The captain watched as the traitorous Ellen Milsen jumped through the broken window of Marvin Center, back into the emptied city streets of downtown Neu Taargus. Milsen and Boltoc had chased one another around the office building for far too long. The captain was glad that the pursuit had returned to the city streets, where she could see everything more clearly.

  Now free of Marvin Center, Milsen took off almost immediately. She sprinted down the road, visibly in bad shape. The traitor limped with each step. Her chin and neck were covered in blood. Only seconds later, Boltoc emerged from the building, following directly behind Milsen. Aside from a few burn marks, he appeared relatively uninjured.

  “She’s leading him on a wild chase,” the captain muttered to herself aloud.

  “What was that, Captain?” a voice asked.

  Daltus suddenly blinked her eyes as she came back to reality. She turned to face the speaker. A guard named Reginald stood mere feet away. The young man was previously stationed on the bridge, but had recently been moved to the navigation control room. He stared at her with a concerned expression.

  “Sorry, Reginald. I was speaking to myself,” she said.

  The young guard nodded and turned away from her, going about his business.

  Daltus returned her attention to the live footage. Milsen was still running away, leading Boltoc back to the stolen ship. But why? What was her endgame? Daltus studied the camera footage around the parked vessel. To her dismay, the traitorous David Cutter stood at the ready with a weapon raised.

  Daltus held her breath. Only seconds later, Cutter unloaded. Blast after blast struck into Boltoc, but the merc was persistent. It took a tota
l of four shots to bring him down.

  “No!” Daltus shouted the moment Boltoc fell to the ground. She could not help but bring her fists down upon a nearby beam.

  Boltoc was the best of the best and yet, he had been beaten by a simple trap. Daltus could only assume that his arrogance and passion for the mission had blinded him of his senses. No doubt Milsen and Cutter would kill him here and now.

  This was not how it was supposed to be.

  Viktor, Mercury, Gwendy, how is Ellen Milsen’s encrypted data coming along? Daltus asked. She needed to know. Boltoc may have failed his part, but she could still end up on top if everything else went according to plan.

  We were able to interpret the final pieces of the corporal’s data, the ship’s three AI replied in unison. Sending the translation to you now.

  Wonderful, she said with a grin. Do you think we can replicate this tech?

  Affirmative, with the right resources, of course.

  And were you able to determine the data’s point of origin?

  Affirmative. It came from a star system known as GJ 1277, only nine lightyears from Thrace. It also goes by the name-

  Vexa Prime, Captain Daltus interrupted. She already knew the answer before the AI even needed to say it. The data came from Red One, didn’t it?

  That would stand to reason. It is the only livable world in the system.

  So someone there must be familiar with this tech.

  That would also stand to reason, Captain. It is curious though, as Red One is considered uninhabited.

  Maybe it is, Daltus said as she studied the action unfolding on her retinal displays. Boltoc and Milsen seemed frozen, simply staring at one another in the city streets. But then again, maybe it isn’t. Maybe there’s more to this than we think.

  Do you presume that Red One may be inhabited?

  I presume nothing, but it’s starting to look like someone might be there, someone with knowledge about this technology.

  To the captain’s surprise, rather than deal a killing bow, Ellen Milsen suddenly turned away from Boltoc. She faced the ship, which had now been hijacked by David Cutter and her foolish backstabbing daughter, Lyla. Milsen climbed aboard the ship and closed the door behind her. Only seconds later, it began to lift off the ground.

  Boltoc was still alive. The traitors had left him there.

  Daltus felt her heart race. If Boltoc was still alive, that could only mean one thing: Milsen must have known the truth.

  “She knows,” Daltus said aloud, hardly able to contain her shock. “Well, well, well, you’ve finally come face to face with the last of the Milsen family.”

  The captain smiled. Perhaps there was a chance Boltoc could finish the job yet.

  Beyond Mateo

  Earth Date (Revised Julian Calendar): 05.05.5673

  Location: Stolen Fighter, Thrace System, Vexa Corp Controlled Space

  Blake held his rifle firmly in hand as he gathered with the other Star Shapers. A gust of wind brushed across the fields, sending puffs of tall grass swirling into the air. Birds chirped in the distance, echoing through the vast vista.

  “Glad you could make it, Blake,” said one of the colonels, a hardened man who went by the name Dozer. “The situation is urgent.”

  Blake nodded to the man and stood in line next to him.

  “Glad I could make it, then,” he replied. “What did I miss?”

  “The situation, as of two minutes ago, is that the Vexa Corp fleet is moving in orbit,” another soldier added, a tiny woman by the name of Sia.

  “Moving where?” Blake wondered.

  “My best guess: here,” Dozer replied, bluntly. “Based on their current trajectory, it looks like they’re moving to attack formation.”

  “Here? How did they find out about us?” Blake asked. He could not believe it.

  “Skar is missing. He left late last night,” Dozer explained.

  A mole. Blake clenched his fists in disgust.

  The Star Shapers were a powerful faction, but a small one. Even a tiny mole had the potential to reveal a lot about their operation. The thought was almost terrifying to consider.

  “How much time do we-”

  “Watch out!” a voice suddenly interrupted, bellowing from the fields.

  Blake instinctively looked up as the sky seemed to turn bright red in flames. His jaw opened wide. He felt paralyzed, transfixed by the horror above.

  “What the hell is-”

  Before he could even finish his sentence, the world caught fire around him. In an instant, he was engulfed in an inferno. Mateo was nothing but smoke and ash.

  Ellen opened her eyes and sat up, suddenly gasping for breath. Sweat ran down her face. Her body trembled.

  She quickly looked around the small confines of the crammed fighter cockpit. Lyla and Dave stared at her, both with worried expressions across their faces.

  “Oh my god,” she muttered aloud. She brushed some hair from her face and let out a deep sigh.

  “You’re okay,” Dave said, placing his hand on her shoulder. “It was just a dream.”

  “It… it seemed so real.” Ellen slowly stopped shaking as Dave removed his hand from her.

  “You’re safe,” added Lyla.

  “Not on Mateo?”

  “No, we’re in space, still in the Thrace system though,” Lyla answered.

  “Vexa Corp?”

  “They’re out there, but the fighter is well-cloaked. Whoever Boltoc stole this from, they certainly knew how to hide a ship.”

  “And Boltoc?”

  “Don’t worry, there’s a lot of distance between him and us.”

  “My… my jaw?” Ellen instinctively felt her face.

  Nano did the trick on your jaw. You can now speak normally again, Yuri explained.

  “Good, good,” she said, nodding. “How about my chest?”

  The xiphoid process was heavily damaged and is harder to heal. It will take a while longer. In the meantime, it will help if you lay still, Yuri answered.

  Ellen nodded and leaned back in the soft cockpit chair. She let out another deep breath.

  “Must have been a tough dream,” Dave said.

  “Yes. I dreamed about Blake,” Ellen replied. “I saw him die.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Lyla said, lowering her head. “That must have been hard to see.”

  “It… it was.” Ellen nodded.

  Everyone was silent for a moment. Ellen stared at the others and caught her breath. Then, after a few seconds, Dave adjusted in his seat and gazed forward through the window.

  “So… what’s our next move?” he asked.

  Ellen smiled, glad that someone was changing the subject.

  “Taspansa,” Ellen explained.

  “I know that,” Dave replied, “but what will happen when we get there?”

  “We need to get there to stop my mother from stealing the Governor’s rejuv tech,” Lyla added.

  “And it won’t be easy. Ryan Lorde must know by now that the Navy betrayed him in helping the sea scorgers at Coral Cove. He won’t be happy to see us.”

  “Good point,” Dave added. “Shouldn’t we avoid Taspansa, then?”

  “No. We can’t do that. Ryan may be wrathful, but stopping Daltus is more important. We can’t let that rejuv fall into her hands. Think about how powerful she will become.”

  “Sounds like an exciting adventure then: return to Taspansa, where Ryan is ready to kill us, and stop Daltus, who is also ready to kill us, from stealing powerful technology. Anything else I’m missing?” Dave said with a smirk.

  You forget that Boltoc is no-doubt following us and that he’s Ellen’s grandson, Gloria added.

  “Like I said,” Dave continued with a sigh, “an adventure.”

  “Don’t worry. We have ample to time to prepare. It will take well over a month to get there,” Ellen said. “In the meantime, let’s at least try to get some rest while we still can. Because once we get to Taspansa, all hell is going to break loose.”

 
The Hidden Patriot

  Earth Date (Revised Julian Calendar): 05.05.5673

  Location: Stolen Fighter, Thrace System, Vexa Corp Controlled Space

  They were safe. Those words were almost unfathomable. Now free of their pursuers, the humans were all fast asleep aboard the stolen vessel, leaving the AIs to their own thoughts. Yuri was glad to see the humans rest. They may have put one adventure behind them, but he knew that the real challenge would begin when they returned to Taspansa.

  Yuri put that thought out of mind for now. At long last, the AI finally had access to a decent network again. This new ship, while not nearly as powerful as the Patriot, provided him with a much better network than the vessel they had taken to Mateo. After a quick scan of the system, Yuri discovered that this ship was once the property of a Vexa Corp security officer, a man named Corcorus. No wonder it was so hard to track.

  What are you doing? Gloria asked as Yuri connected to the ship’s network.

  Trying to reach the Patriot.

  Reach the Patriot? You mean you’re trying to hail the ship?

  No, not hail the ship. I just want to talk to the AI.

  What for?

  One last attempt to get through to them before we leave the system.

  Try not to give away our position in the process. We are lucky Daltus doesn’t know where we are. Please keep it that way.

  I understand, Yuri replied. He did not need to be reminded of all the bad luck they’ve had.

  Yuri searched for the Patriot’s signal, while keeping his own source hidden. It was a more complicated process than he anticipated. Yuri could not seem to locate the ship’s signal at all.

  What’s wrong? Gloria asked, obviously noticing that something was the matter.

  I can’t find the ship. I’m casting a wide net.

  Maybe the Patriot is on the move.

  That can’t be right. The Patriot always stays in the same place. It guards the system. Where would it go?

  I don’t know, but it would explain why you can’t locate it.

  Gloria’s theory certainly made sense, though Yuri could not imagine why the system’s main defense ship would abandon its post. Thrace would be left wide open for attack if the Patriot were to ever leave.