by M. R. Forbes
“Then we need to stay busy,” Quark said.
He guided the racer into the Pit, navigating around the multiple bridges while the individuals on them stared. Hayley could see their qi turn green when the car passed, both with curiosity and envy of the money they thought was inside. They were probably wondering why someone so rich would even bother coming to their settlement.
They were also probably wondering why the door was missing.
“The Pit was the original corporate mine,” Tibor said. “A hundred thousand individuals used to be down here, pulling out precious metals and minerals. Most of the individuals here, they’re still finding small deposits now and then, and they pool them together for trade. It isn’t worth the effort to the corps, but believe it or not some of the miners down here could buy ten of these cars without blinking.”
“I believe it,” Quark said. “Where can I land?”
The Nephilim laughed. “Anywhere you can find space that looks like it won’t collapse under the weight.”
Quark grinned, eyeing the area. The filters in his eyes would allow him to scan the structural integrity of the scaffolding and find the right place.
He did a few seconds later, swooping into a clear spot on the north side of the cliffs and touching down.
They climbed out of the car. Hayley was still a little shaky from using the naniates to stop the skink’s bullets. Tibor noticed she was off-balance, offering his arm.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“It’s been a long day.”
“Agreed.”
“Where to?” Quark asked, grabbing the dropship’s com equipment and hefting it under his arm.
Tibor looked around and then pointed. “This way.”
He guided them to the mouth of a cave. A row of strung lights illuminated the inside. Quark put his hand on the smooth stone.
“Plixian,” he said. It was common for corporations to hire the insect diggers to create the tunnels and passages the miners would need. Kelvar was no different.
“There’s a whole network of passages. It’ll take a while for White to find us in here, and it’s impossible to cover every avenue of escape.”
“Sounds good to me,” Hayley said.
They spent the next ten minutes at a brisk walk, navigating around the population of the Pit. Hayley guessed it was about fifty percent human, thirty percent Plixian, and twenty percent an assortment of everything else. She scanned their qi as they passed, getting a feel for their intentions. Most ignored the three of them. A few were curious. A few registered a shade of gray that suggested they were taking note of them, in case that information proved valuable later.
They switched passages often, descending deeper under the earth until finally coming out into a cavern large enough to house a Republic Destroyer. It had scaffolding along the sides, three levels of shops and storefronts, and an open space on the bottom where a group of individuals were playing some kind of game with sticks and balls. Children were running around the edges, while other individuals sat and talked.
“Will the com get a signal through here?” Hayley asked. “We went pretty deep.”
“With a little help,” Tibor said. “I didn’t spend much time in the Pit before I was captured, but I learned a few things.”
He guided them to one of the larger shops. Like the other stores, it was hewn into the rock, with a simple round entryway protected by a hinged metal door. The door was open because the store was open.
They walked in. A trio of Plixians were standing in the corner, mandibles moving as they clicked and clacked in their language, just low enough that Hayley’s translator couldn’t get the clarity it needed to convert it. They paused when Tibor approached them.
“You,” one of them said. “I told you never to come back here.”
Hayley watched the qi of the two Plixians beside the first shift to red as they reached behind their thoraxes, producing a pair of large handguns and aiming them at the Goreshin.
“I told you if you showed your face again, you were dead. Nephilim shit.”
19
Hayley stepped in front of Tibor before the Plixian could shoot and before the Goreshin could fight back.
“Wait,” she said, putting her hands up in front of the flanking bug’s pistols. “Just wait a second.”
“You have friends, scum?” the Plixian said past her. His small eyes shifted to her. “If you’re with Nephilim, you must be Nephilim.”
The two bugs moved their guns a little closer.
“Bullshit,” Quark said, getting into the action. “I’m no fragging Nephilim, and neither is my girl here. This guy? He’s not as much of a shit as some of the other dogs I’ve met.”
The Plixian glanced at Quark. His qi changed, turning from red to a calmer blue. “Colonel Quark?” he said.
Quark smiled. “You know me?”
“I know of you,” the Plixian said. He motioned to the other two, who returned their weapons to their backs. “We keep our antennae to the sky. You’re no friend of the Nephilim.”
“Nope. I take it you’re Sharders then?”
The Plixian bobbed his head. “Servants of the Seraphim. Guardians of the Light. Indeed.”
“You do know this planet’s overrun with Satan’s minions?”
“Of course. We keep a presence on every planet we can. We can rarely field the numbers to fight, especially with what the Venerant has been doing here.”
“You know about the research?” Hayley asked.
The Plixian motioned to Tibor. “We have seen the fruits of Devain’s labor. We have experienced it firsthand.”
“Devain took some of the Plixians,” Tibor said. “She used them to test us.” He looked back at the bug. “I’m sorry. I didn’t have a choice.”
“Everyone has a choice,” the Plixian replied.
“I came here the first time because I was trying to escape it.”
“And instead, Devain took hundreds of my kind for you to kill.”
The Plixian’s qi was shifting to red again.
“Okay,” Hayley said. “That’s enough. Tibor, keep your mouth shut.” She turned her face back to the Plixian. “The past is done. Gone. Can’t be changed. The good news? Devain is dead. I killed her and set Tibor free. He’s with us now. The bad news?”
“They’re looking for you,” the Plixian said, finishing for her.
“Yes. They’re pissed we killed Devain.”
“They also want this,” Quark said, producing the data chip.
“What is it?” the Plixian asked.
“Their research. The naniates. The Goreshin. Everything. The whole soul-powered starship thing didn’t work out, so they’re turning to super soldiers instead. Everything they’ve done is here, instead of back there.”
The Plixians clicked in laughter.
“Is that why you’re here, Colonel?” the lead asked.
“No. We thought we were jumping in to rescue some kids from slavery. It was a fragging trap. Too bad Devain didn’t know we have a Cage with us.”
“A Cage?” the Plixian said, eyes shifting back to Hayley. He stared at her a moment. “You’re Abigail’s child?”
Hayley nodded, suddenly uncomfortable. She knew her mother was a big deal to the Sharders, but she didn’t want to be compared to her. She had her own life to create.
The Plixian lowered himself on his six legs, bowing in front of her. “We are at your service. I am Xi’xan. These are Lo’xan and Pi’xan, my brood-brothers.”
“It is an honor to meet the Daughter of the Light.”
Ugh. Hayley rolled her eyes, flicking her head angrily back toward Quark. His qi was yellow. Amused and smug.
“Fine. Whatever. We could use your help.”
“Of course,” Xi’xan said. “What do you require?”
“Our dropship was destroyed on the way in,” Quark said, holding out the com equipment. “We managed to find the communications module, but we need to get it running, and we need a clean signal
out of the underground.”
“Venerant Devain claimed our ship was destroyed,” Hayley said. “We’re not convinced. Not only was it cloaked, but it was pulled back from the area to wait.”
“I see,” Xi’xan said. He held out two of his three-fingered hands, taking the equipment from Quark. “I take it the signal this emits is encrypted?”
“It uses Crescent Hauler network bandwidth,” Quark said. “If you know me, then you know who I work for.”
“Don Pallimo,” Xi’xan said. “A good man, if a bit cutthroat.”
Quark smiled. “That’s why I like him.”
“We need to do it asap,” Hayley said. “The Nephilim know we came this way, and they’ll be closing in soon.”
“Are you aiming to get off the planet, then?” Xi’xan said. “Or are you looking for reinforcements?”
“Getting-” Hayley started to say.
“We’re undecided,” Quark said over her, glancing her way. His qi was a more serious dark blue. “If we can do something about the infestation here, we will. Those assholes took out most of my team. Payback is a bitch.”
The Plixians laughed.
“We’re usually the ones being called the infestation,” Xi’xan said. “Let us see what we can do with this.”
He carried the communications module to the back of the shop, through another door and into a workroom in the rear. There were all kinds of equipment back there, which Hayley guessed was probably used for mining.
“There’s an antenna array at the edge of the Pit,” Xi’xan said. “We have a direct link to it. We use it to send and receive information about the Nephilim.”
“Wait a second,” Hayley said. “You said you knew about the experiments.”
“Yes.”
“Did you tell the Seraphim what was happening?”
“Of course.”
Hayley felt her anger building. “And they did frag all about any of it?”
“Hal,” Quark said.
“Where the hell are the Seraphim?” she said. “Where the hell is my Mother? They should have been here long before we showed up. They could have at least fragging warned us about this place.”
“Hal,” Quark said again.
“No,” Hayley said. “This is bullshit, Colonel, and you know it. Currl is dead. Ram. Jules. Neo. You almost died. Why didn’t anyone tell Don Pallimo this place wasn’t a damned waypoint for slaves?”
The Plixian had shrunk back at her outburst and was shaking nervously. Quark put his hand on Hayley’s shoulder, but she shrugged it off.
“We’re all supposed to be working together,” she continued. “We’re all supposed to be stopping the Nephilim from screwing with our galaxy. And we can’t even manage one simple fragging warning?”
She clenched her fists. She felt like she was going to explode. It was another example of how her mother had let her down. Disappeared. Not only from her life but apparently from the rest of the galaxy she was supposed to be trying to protect.
“We sent the information,” Xi’xan said. “I don’t know why it wasn’t received or disseminated. I’m sorry, young Cage.”
“Hal,” Quark said. “It could be the Nephilim are blocking or intercepting comms from here. That’s why we use encrypted, hidden channels. The Seraphim don’t have that. They’re stuck with encrypted GalNet, and if their stream gets hacked, they’re fragged. The Seraphim have pretty much lost this fight, remember? That’s why we’re here, doing what we do.”
“Abigail should be here, too,” she said. “The Rejects should be here.”
She had tears in her eyes, running beneath the visor.
“I’m sure she would if she could, kid,” he said.
“That makes one of us.”
Quark didn’t respond. Hayley fought back against her personal garbage, a little embarrassed for losing it in the first place.
“Just set up the com,” she said.
Xi’xan put the module down, connecting a power source and control unit, running it through some standard diagnostics.
“It is fully operational,” he said a few minutes later.
“Hook it into the antenna,” Quark said.
“Yes,” Xi’xan replied.
He scuttled over to the corner, grabbing a thin wire and extending it to where he had left the module. He placed the end next to the equipment and then took another few minutes to laser away a bit of bent metal from the module’s shielding. Once that was done, he clicked the wire into the proper connecting port, returning his attention to the control unit.
Hayley stood still and silent, the tension building as the Plixian worked. She was eager to learn the true fate of the Quasar. She was also terrified.
She glanced over at Quark. Outwardly, he was in a relaxed military posture. But she could tell by his qi he was as nervous as her. This was their family.
Xi’xan adjusted the control unit. “Transmitting,” he said.
They waited. Hayley’s heart pumped beneath her chest. Her mouth was dry. She could barely breathe. The Quasar was a few million kilometers out. The transmission would take a handful of seconds to get to her, and a handful more for the ping back.
Quark moved closer to her again, returning his hand to her shoulder. She didn’t push it away again. She moved into him, finding what comfort she could in the crook of his arm.
The seconds continued to pass.
Ten.
Twenty.
Thirty.
Well past the time the Quasar should have responded.
Xi’xan turned and looked at them. His qi was dark gray and deep blue. Sadness.
“No,” Hayley whispered, barely able to find enough air to speak. The tears ran from her eyes, and down beneath the visor. “It can’t be.”
Quark pulled his arm in, holding her tighter against him. She sobbed against him, while he stood there stiff and silent.
The minutes passed like hours. She pulled herself away, just enough to look up at him. There was so much gray and blue and red in his qi, but the red was overwhelming the rest.
“I’ve made up my mind,” he said softly, his voice cracking just a little.
He couldn’t cry. He didn’t have tear ducts. But Hayley knew. She always did.
“I’m going to rip White’s throat out with my bare fragging hands. Him and all those damned bastards. They screwed with the wrong mercs. This is fragging war.”
20
“Guns,” Quark barked at Xi’xan. “I need guns. Highest end you’ve got. And I need a lot of them.”
“There are only three of you,” Xi’xan replied.
“What about you?” Hayley said.
“We can’t get involved,” the Plixian replied. “Not with physical assistance. We’re the only Shardkeepers on Kelvar. Our mission is to report.”
“Report to who?” Quark said. “Didn’t we already figure your transmissions aren’t clearing the area?”
“I’ll help you acquire weapons,” Xi’xan said. “That’s the best I can do.”
“Fragging coward,” Quark said.
“This isn’t his fight, Colonel,” Hayley said. She could still feel the wetness of her tears beneath her visor. “It’s ours.”
“And mine,” Tibor said. “I’m with you.”
“How long will it take you to get what we need?” Quark asked. “I want to be ready when those assholes show up.”
“Not long,” Xi’xan said.
He scuttled away, to the main area of the shop. Hayley could hear his clicks as he spoke to his brood-brothers. She heard them leave the store a moment later, and then he returned.
“They are organizing the accumulation,” he said. “We will need funds.”
“Of course you will,” Quark said, pulling his payment chip out of his pocket and throwing it at the Plixian. “Spend every damn cent, I don’t care.”
Xi’xan caught it with his third hand. He dipped his antennae in understanding.
“I need a few minutes,” Hayley said.
She glanced at Quark, and then left the room. She wasn’t sure where she was going, but she had to get away from there because there was where the worst had been realized.
She found her way out to the main concourse, stopping and looking down over the rail to the smooth rock floor below. She could see the children laughing and playing, and the other individuals enjoying their game. She could see whirls of rainbow colors all around her.
It made her sick.
Why should they be happy? Why should they have joy or comfort or peace? She had just lost her mother. Her second mother, and she was still only eighteen. How many of her loved ones were going to die?
She lifted the visor off her head, folding it and tucking it into a tightpack so she could wipe the tears from her eyes. They were still coming, despite her best efforts to stay strong.
“It’s why I never got close to anyone,” Quark said. “Before you, anyway. Even Nibs. We had a thing, but I never let myself feel it.”
“Is that what this is?” she asked. “This life? Never getting close to anyone? Is that how it has to be?”
“Yeah.” He put his arm over her shoulder, leaning over the railing with her. “If you don’t want to hurt, that’s how it’s gotta be.”
“I don’t know if I can do that.”
“Good.”
She turned her head toward him. The same colors swirled through his qi, red and gray and deep blue. “Good?”
“You aren’t me, kid,” he said. “And damned if I’d ever want you to be. You got your mom’s spirit. Both of them. You also got their compassion. That’s a good thing.”
“I’d rather have Nibia alive.”
“Me, too.”
They stood on the railing together without speaking. What would the point of words be? They both hurt the same, for the same reasons.
Hayley kept watching the individuals below. At first, she wasn’t paying that much attention to individual qi, but then she noticed a spot of dark purple on one of the children below. Compassion. Emotion. Anger. Sadness. Pain. Joy. Love. It all went together. You couldn’t turn off one feeling without shutting them all down.
She was certain she couldn’t do it. It was better to hurt.
