Skybreach (The Reach #3)

by Mark R. Healy

  Until now, Knile had figured Duran was probably dead. The guy had gone toe-to-toe with a couple of Crimson Shield in the Atrium, after all. He wasn’t sure exactly how Duran had made it out of there alive a week ago. Perhaps the Crimson Shield had taken it easy on him and allowed him to walk away, or maybe Duran had made it back to the elevators before they could gun him down.

  Either way, he was still very much alive and kicking. And very pissed.

  Although he was a pain in the ass, Alec Duran was the least of Knile’s concerns right now. Something much larger than their personal fracas was at play.

  Children of Earth, Knile thought, disbelieving. They actually went through with it. They killed Hank.

  He felt a pang of regret that he hadn’t been able to save his old friend. Hank had been good to him over the years. Although he had ostensibly been part of the establishment to which Knile had been opposed, Knile had always viewed him as one of the good guys. He’d always treated Knile fairly, and that was a rare quality in a place like the Reach.

  He had to respect that Hank had stayed true to the Consortium, at least. He’d died with his honour intact.

  As he thought about the attack, another, more urgent thought came to Knile.

  What are the Consortium going to do now? What’s their response going to be?

  He needed to know that more than anything.

  He pushed away from the door and winced in pain. Looking down he could see blood on his shirt, and as he gently pulled the fabric aside he found a gash on the lower right side of his abdomen. He hadn’t even realised he’d sustained the injury until now; that adrenaline coursing through his body had evidently precluded him from feeling the pain.

  It was starting to hurt now though, big time.

  Get over it, he thought irritably, staggering down the corridor. Up ahead, members of Skybreach were hurrying between rooms and shouting at each other as they tried to organise themselves in the wake of the attack. It seemed the power hadn’t been cut here at least. He saw Holger and Silvestri, then Remus bustling about with a tablet clutched in his hand.

  Knile’s holophone rang, and as he reached into his pocket he saw Talia appear in the corridor with her phone against her ear, a worried expression on her face. When she saw him she lowered the phone and cancelled the call, relief etched across her countenance.

  “Knile, thank god,” she said, running toward him. “I was beginning to wonder about you.” She looked as though she were about to embrace him, then stopped when she saw the patch of crimson on his shirt. “You’re hurt.”

  “No big deal. I’m okay.” He pulled her close and gave her a firm embrace to reinforce his words. As she pulled back he could see that she too had not escaped unscathed. There was a lump over one eye and her neck was scratched. “Were you near the explosion?”

  “Uh, no,” she said, self-consciously lifting a hand to the bump on her head. “Silvestri and I ran into some trouble on our little field trip.”

  “Anything bad?”

  “Nothing we couldn’t handle.” She grabbed his hand and began to pull him along. “Come on. It looks like the Consortium are about to send out an announcement.”

  Knile lifted his pace as he followed her down the hall. “Shit. Why does the sound of that make me nervous?”

  They clustered around the largest terminal in the surveillance room, their faces tense to the last as they stared at the message that had appeared not only there, but on every network connected device in the room. It was short and to the point, devoid of any kind of embellishment, as if whomever had put it together had little concern for the aesthetics involved.

  There was simply bold white font, capitalised, against a black background.

  STAND BY FOR NEWS FROM THE CONSORTIUM

  “News,” Holger said deprecatingly, his arms folded across his chest. “Maybe we’ll get sports and the weather, too. Haven’t seen a broadcast on either of those in about twenty years.”

  “Shut up,” Remus muttered. “We might miss it.”

  Knile looked around. Yun, Roman and Iris were here, as well as Silvestri and some of Holger’s brawlers. Aksel was seated close to the terminal, flicking through something on his holophone with typical urgency.

  “Why are they making us wait so long?” Iris said irritably.

  “Perhaps they have a flair for the theatrical,” Silvestri said.

  Aksel raised his hand in a short, uncertain movement.

  “It’s coming,” he said. “It’s already appearing on the Consortium network.”

  “Yeah, that’d be right,” Holger said. “They probably won’t even send it to us–”

  Just then the images on the screens around them winked out, plunging the room into darkness, and then a split second later a woman’s face came into view with unexpected brightness and intensity. Her eyes glared down at them from a dozen terminals of varying sizes around the room, and Knile had the crazy idea that she could somehow see them, even though the broadcast was not a two-way communication.

  “Citizens of the Reach,” the woman began, “my name is Administrator Valen of the Consortium. Most of you would have never heard my name before this moment, and you are probably wondering who I am and why it is that I am addressing you today.” She was thin-faced, with dark circles and lines under her eyes. She was under a great deal of stress, Knile decided, and trying her best to appear calm and professional. “I wish that we could have met under better circumstances, but alas, this is not the case.”

  “Here we go,” Holger muttered, disgusted. “Drop the bomb, bitch.”

  “Shut up,” Remus said again, never taking his eyes from the screen.

  “This is a dark day for the Consortium,” Valen went on. “A dark day for Earth itself. The Consortium and the citizens of the Reach have lived in harmony for many years. We have achieved great things together. Now, regrettably, that peace has been shattered. Good people, there are those among you, a minority, it must be said, who wish destroy not only the Consortium, but your way of life as well.” The backdrop around Valen changed from a featureless white matte to a video feed depicting a blazing inferno, from which churned thick black smoke.

  “Little more than a day ago, a consulate within the segment of the Reach you call Gaslight was attacked by criminals – terrorists, in fact – who sought to bring fear and destruction to our world. During this callous onslaught, the consulate was completely destroyed, and those within murdered.” A hardness came into her eyes. “Innocent people were killed, good people whom I knew on a personal basis.” The backdrop faded to white again, and Valen took her time before continuing on again, seemingly weighing up what to say next.

  “I met with my council of advisors immediately after this attack in order to devise a plan of action going forward. I also met with your own Commissioner Prazor of the Enforcers. It was agreed that this behaviour could not be tolerated, and contingencies were made.

  “It is clear now that the measures we undertook after the first attack were not strong enough to deter further violence. A short time ago, this morning, there was a second attack, targeting yet another consulate, and once again the destruction was widespread. As before, there have been no survivors found.” Valen drew herself up, bristling with barely contained ire. “This is an affront to the Consortium and to everything for which it stands. It is unacceptable, to say the least. And so, we must respond, and we must do so swiftly.

  “I met briefly with my council again a few moments ago and a plan of action was laid out. For those of you residing within the Reach, these measures may sound severe, but I can assure you that the Consortium has been left with no other option.”

  Talia and Knile exchanged a worried glance, and he pressed his lips together grimly before returning his attention to the screen.

  “I am initiating a lockdown of the Reach,” Valen announced. “This has never been undertaken before, so to most of you, the ramifications of this action will be unclear. Allow me to explain.”

  “Fi
rst,” Holger said in a high pitch tone of voice, mimicking Valen, “you bend over. Then, we take a big sharp stick–”

  “Shut it!” Silvestri snapped.

  “As we speak, Enforcers are being withdrawn from the city of Link. This relocation of personnel will be absolute, with not one single Enforcer to be left outside the Reach. This action is being performed so that the Enforcers may rally inside the Reach. Upon arrival they will be deployed to defend the gates, protect Consortium assets, and undertake other duties as required.”

  “Holy shit,” Knile muttered. “When they abandon Link–”

  “Everyone in the slums will pour into the city,” Talia said, horrified. “Link will become a war zone.”

  “Further,” Valen went on, her voice dropping deeper to reflect the gravity of her words, “all current passkey access has been revoked. Those citizens who had previously been booked for travel on the Wire will be required to resubmit their application in order to be considered for future off-world transit.”

  Yun threw something on the floor in disgust, and it skidded away and clattered noisily into the far wall.

  “We’re screwed,” he said under his breath, turning away.

  “Due to the security concerns that I have previously outlined, consulates will be shut down immediately. I will be relocating consuls, staff and the Crimson Shield to safer environs at the earliest opportunity. From there, we will be devising a plan to evacuate the Reach. I can assure you that this process will be thorough and inclusive, and will not be restricted to a privileged few. Those who wish to leave will be accommodated in due course.”

  “Ha! Bullshit,” Holger said.

  “Finally,” Valen said, “I ask that you remain as calm as possible in this difficult time. You will see an increased Enforcer presence throughout the Reach. These men and women are present to ensure that no more lives are lost, and they will require your full cooperation. Should you become aware of terrorist activity from the group calling itself Children of Earth, please report it to your local Enforcers immediately.

  “I will be in contact with you again with updates as the situation progresses. Thank you for your time and your understanding.”

  As she finished, the terminals went black once again, and then slowly faded back to their original content – a series of camera feeds from across the Reach. Knile watched a group of maintenance workers somewhere in Gaslight slowly turn away from the terminal they’d been watching, their expressions numb. On the next screen he saw similar reactions from people in Lux. One of them, a young woman in a glittering silver dress, buried her head in her hands and began to sob.

  Around him, the other members of Skybreach looked at each other with disconcerted expressions. No one said anything. Even Holger seemed to have run out of wisecracks.

  Knile reached over and touched Silvestri on the shoulder to gain his attention. Silvestri half turned to him, his face ashen, and shook his head.

  “Everything we knew just went up in smoke,” he said.

  18

  “Not everything,” Knile said adamantly. “There has to be part of the plan we can still salvage.”

  “Hey, man,” Holger drawled, “were you listening to that bitch just now? We’re in lockdown. Those were her words. Do you think we’re somehow going to walk up through the Atrium and plonk our asses on the railcar like it’s business as usual?”

  “The rules of the game just changed,” Yun agreed. “And we hadn’t even finished learning the old rules yet.”

  “Wait a minute, everyone. Please,” Silvestri said, drawing himself up. He seemed embarrassed that he’d lost faith so quickly and shot Knile an apologetic glance. “Knile is right. Let’s think this through rationally. If there are components of the old plan that are no longer applicable, we discard them and come up with alternatives.”

  “Components?” Holger said. “I’d say the whole thing is trashed.”

  “We’re here to find a way off this planet,” Silvestri said forcefully. “That has always been Skybreach’s goal. Nothing has changed in that regard. Anyone who doesn’t want a part of that can walk away now.” He raised his hand and pointed. “The door is right there.”

  Everyone stood where they were. Holger glanced around cautiously, as if expecting someone to take Silvestri up on his offer, but no one did.

  “So it’s settled,” Silvestri went on. “We’re going to revise our plan, and then we’re going to make it work. Now would be a good time to start.”

  Remus stepped forward. “Valen mentioned something about evacuating the Reach,” he said. “What do you think that’s all about?”

  “You bought that?” Iris said, incredulous. “Get real, Remus. There’s no way she’s going to evacuate the whole population of the Reach.”

  “Why not?” Remus said.

  “I agree with Iris,” Silvestri said. “Valen was being purposely vague about the evacuation because she wants cooperation from the citizens of the Reach. She wants them to think that they might be rewarded if they do what she says.”

  “Right,” Knile said. “She’ll get the Consortium personnel out first. Once that’s done…” He chewed his lip thoughtfully. “I think we can assume they’ll shut the Wire down.”

  “You don’t know that,” Remus said.

  “Remus, I’ll tell you what I do know,” Knile said. “The Consortium have shown over the years that their only interest here on Earth is as a business. They’re here to make a profit. We’d be kidding ourselves if we believed that they were going to stay here forever.” He looked around at the others in the room. “They’ve been taking the last of the resources left on Earth – rich people, artefacts – and shoving them up the Wire, right? But since Children of Earth began to piss over everything, they’ve obviously decided it isn’t worth it anymore. Otherwise they’d be fighting back instead of pulling out, wouldn’t they?”

  “So after they evacuate the Consortium personnel, then what?” Remus said.

  “They’re unlikely to stick around for humanitarian reasons,” Silvestri said. “The cost to evacuate everyone in the Reach would be enormous.”

  “Well, if you think about it,” Talia said, “they can’t evacuate anyone after the last of their people leaves. Who’s going to coordinate the evacuation from down here? Where are they going to put all of the refugees who travel up the Wire? All of those thousands of people aren’t going to sit around in Habitat One, are they?”

  “And who’s going to relocate them all to the outer colonies?” Knile said. “That’s an awful lot of Sponsors.”

  “All right,” Silvestri said. “We’re agreed on this. We have to assume that once the Consortium get their people out, they’ll shut down the Wire, at which point, Skybreach would be officially finished.”

  “So we have to get out before that happens,” Holger said. “This plan just gets better every minute.”

  “The question is, how long is that going to take?” Iris said.

  An uneasy silence descended upon them as they considered the implications of her words.

  “There’s uh… a couple of hundred Consortium personnel spread around the Reach,” Aksel said.

  “So,” Silvestri said thoughtfully, “if they run the railcar day and night – which they will – they could have them all evacuated within a week or two.”

  “So our two week window still works,” Yun said, a modicum of hope entering his voice.

  “It would be dangerous to rely on such a timeframe,” Lazarus said from the doorway. They all turned to look at him, and he stood there for a moment longer before stooping his massive frame through the entrance. “I would advise against it.”

  “Thanks for showing up,” Holger said brashly. “Where you been, big boy? Taking a nap?”

  “I have been listening to the address from Administrator Valen. What she conveyed in her message has me greatly concerned.”

  “Why? Because you’re worried your buddies from the Consortium are going to leave you stranded here?”


  Lazarus came to a halt not far from Holger, and as he did, the other brawlers formed up behind their leader in a show of solidarity.

  Lazarus tilted his head upward and slightly to the side and stood there thoughtfully, as if he were a hunter trying to pick up the scent of his prey on the breeze.

  “Your breath is redolent of both dread and cowardice, brawler. Your attempts to mask your misgivings through false bravado are utterly transparent.”

  Holger took a step forward, sneering. “I don’t know what the fuck that means, but it sounded like an insult. You wanna do battle with me, Redman?”

  “Battle? A most inappropriate term. I would do battle with you no more than I would with a rodent. Extermination is a more appropriate descriptor of what I would do to–”

  “All right,” Talia said scornfully, interjecting herself between the two of them and pushing them apart. “Put your dicks away, gentlemen. This isn’t getting us anywhere.”

  Holger made a sharp motion with his hand, pointing a finger threateningly at Lazarus with an almost comically antagonistic expression on his face, and the Redmen turned away, unconcerned.

  “My apologies,” Lazarus said to Silvestri. “That was unbecoming of me.”

  “You were speaking about Valen,” Silvestri said. “Please go on.”

  “Knile speaks the truth in regards to the motivation of the Consortium. Profit is their god. Their master. It would not be beyond reason to expect that they may leave some of their own behind when they leave, those of lower station, if it would drain less from their coffers.”

  “So you’re saying that they’re only going to take the most important personnel,” Iris said. “Then they’ll pull out?”

  “I do not know for certain. I am merely suggesting that this may be the case.”

  Talia’s seemed horrified by the implications of this. “But that means they could be gone in…” She trailed off.

  “Your window for escape may well be days, not weeks,” Lazarus said.

  Knile looked around the room at Iris, Yun, Remus, Aksel, Roman and the others, and saw the same deflated expression on each of their faces. They looked lost, the hope that had glimmered in their hearts for so long extinguished by the morning’s revelations.