by J. N. Chaney
Thirteen
Titan bustled with activity the moment I stepped off The Renegade Star’s loading dock. Pilots swarmed the landing bay, some of them still inside their strike ships.
I didn’t have to ask why. It was clear the crew had been on high alert the entire time my team had been on Abaddon Station. They’d probably sat in this bay, waiting for the call to fly out and engage the enemy, never knowing with any certainty whether or not my mission would prove successful. If I’d failed, they might’ve found themselves locked in a fight with fifty enemy drones. Instead of a few injuries, things could have gotten much worse.
“Welcome back, Captain Hughes,” said Athena as she materialized in front of me. “How was Abaddon Station?”
“Mostly fine,” I said, leaning back to see Abby, Freddie, and Dressler following behind.
“There may have been a few hiccups,” said Dressler.
“I suspected as much,” said the Cognitive. “In fact, that is why I’m here. I don’t wish to alarm any of you, but my sensors received an outbound transmission as soon as we arrived back in the system. Upon closer inspection, it appears to have originated on the station.”
“Isn’t that the signal for the drones to stand down?” asked Dressler.
“I’m afraid not. This particular transmission seems to have been directed at us,” explained Athena. “Or, rather, myself.”
“Yourself?” asked Abigail.
“Please, come to the bridge and I shall replay the transmission for all of you to hear. I could play it here, but I suspect you might not wish for the rest of the crew to hear it, particularly—” She turned slightly to her side, glancing to a nearby strike ship. There, along with Hitchens, stood Lex and a few of her friends.
“I get it,” I told her. “We’ll meet you up there. First thing’s first, though. How long do we have before our next tunnel break?”
“Six hours,” she said.
“Long enough for you to rest,” said Abby, looking at me.
“That all depends on how this next meeting goes,” I said.
Athena nodded. “I’ll be waiting, Captain.”
With that, she disappeared back into thin air, leaving the rest of us to walk the rest of the way. I had to admit, I envied her a little, especially considering the size of this ship.
Lex spotted me quickly, as I expected, and ran over to our group. She had her usual smile, probably having a day with her little friends. “Captain Hughes!” she exclaimed, grabbing both my hand as well as Abigail’s. “Abby!”
“Hey, kid. How’s the easy life?” I asked her.
“It’s easy!” she replied.
I smirked. “Good. That’s how it’s supposed to be.”
“Did you have fun on your trip?”
Abby answered for me. “Never as much fun as it is with you, Lex.”
She giggled. “Will you be at dinner tonight? Dr. Hitchens says we can have ice cream if we do our problems.”
“That sounds great, kid,” I said.
“I bet if you’re good, I could get you some, too,” she said.
“You’d do that for us?” asked Abigail.
Lex nodded, still grinning. “Leave it to me!”
I tousled Lex’s hair, telling her I’d see her later. She rejoined Hitchens and the other children, and in a moment it was like she’d never left. She had no idea what kind of danger had nearly gripped this ship and its crew, and I was glad for that.
She’d seen enough shit in her short years to last a lifetime. If I could save her from a little more, whether by killin’ or eating some ice cream, I’d gladly carry that load.
* * *
I took the liberty of calling Alphonse, Karin, Bolin, and Octavia to the bridge, just so I wouldn’t have to repeat any of this later. I considered asking Hitchens to join us, too, but he seemed to have his hands full with Lex and the other kids.
As soon as we’d gathered on the bridge, Athena wasted no time playing the transmission for all of us to hear.
“Hephaestus Protocol initiated. Warning: threat assessment ongoing. Do not proceed.”
I shot a quick glance at Dressler. “There’s that protocol again.”
She nodded. “This message says a little more than the one we saw on Abaddon.”
“You received a message on the station?” asked Athena.
Dressler shook her head. “Not like this one. It was brief and simply said that this Hephaestus Protocol had been initiated. There was no warning attached to it.”
“I see,” said the Cognitive.
“Athena, didn’t you say you were trying to contact Hephaestus?” asked Octavia.
“Correct,” she answered. “I have sent over two hundred requests, prior to our arrival at Abaddon Station. I received no response, leaving me to assume that Hephaestus had either been destroyed or deactivated.”
“Seems like that assumption might’ve been premature,” said Abigail.
“Indeed,” said Athena. “Based on your account of the mission, I believe Hephaestus has been reactivated. An inadvertent consequence of your actions on Abaddon Station.”
“Woops,” I said.
“Isn’t that a good thing?” asked Freddie, deciding to speak up. “We did the handshake, so shouldn’t that be the end of it?”
“Theoretically, yes,” said Athena. “However, the contents of this message indicate otherwise.”
“It definitely sounds like a threat,” said Abigail.
I scoffed. “Threat or not, we can’t just sit around and wait. We’ve still got the Union chasing after us, remember? Besides, if Hephaestus is alive, we should be able to contact him.”
“Not from within slipspace,” said Athena. “We’ll need to exit the tunnel if we intend on sending a message.”
“Fine, let’s do that,” I said. “You said we’ve got six hours before the next break, right?”
“Five and a half, as of right now,” said the Cognitive.
“Contact me when we’re almost there. I want to be here when we arrive,” I told her.
“I’ll keep you apprised,” said Athena.
We dispersed, leaving the bridge, each of us off to do our own thing. I imagined most of them would use the time to rest. Before I could so much as think of doing anything else, I felt Abigail’s hands around my arm, dragging me back to my ship. “Let’s have ourselves a rest,” she ordered, giving me a look that suggested I didn’t have a choice in the matter.
Even still, I decided to fake some resistance. “Who said you could order me around, woman?”
“Keeping you alive is part of the job. That includes forcing you to rest.”
“I don’t know. I think I might need a little exercise first,” I said, reaching behind her and squeezing.
She perked up, sweeping my arm away, but the playful look in her eye told me she was eager. “If that’s what it takes to get you to sleep, I guess I could be persuaded…”
“Oh, yeah?” I asked. “I could always go find me another nun, you know, if you’re not interested.”
She rolled her eyes, but smiled. “Don’t try your threats on me, Renegade. I’ll show you what a former nun can do.”
“Oh, trust me. I’m counting on that.”
Fourteen
Five and a half hours went by in a blink, but the deep and dreamless sleeps were always like that. I took it as a good sign that I’d been keeping busy.
I shifted between the sheets, Abigail’s naked body beside me. I could feel her warmth as she slept, breathing gently as she dreamed. It took everything in me not to wake her up right there and have my way with her, but I told myself I had things to do, and I pushed the carnal urge away, saving it for later.
I thought about waking Abby so she could join me, but decided to let her sleep a while longer. If anything serious came up while I was on the bridge, I could always call and get her on the line.
Tossing on my clothes and grabbing a cup of coffee, I walked briskly through Titan’s landing bay and toward the el
evator. We were set to arrive out of slipspace in twenty minutes, which meant I had to hurry.
By the time I stepped off the lift, I only had a few minutes remaining, so I decided to jog the rest of the way there. As I neared the bridge, the door slid open, sooner than I had anticipated.
On the other side of the room, I spotted Athena next to a screen displaying the exterior of the ship. Green lightning snapped chaotically against the twilight of the slip tunnel walls, ripping apart as a new opening began to form ahead of us. I’d arrived just in time to see Titan reemerging into normal space. Not a second to spare, it seemed.
On top of that, Octavia was already here, along with Alphonse. “What are you two doing here?” I asked, joining them, near the display.
“We were already here, working with Athena on coordinating the fleet,” said Alphonse. “Sigmond is here, too.”
“That right?” I asked, looking up, the way I did when I was on The Star. “Siggy?”
“Present, sir,” said the A.I. “Mr. Malloy and I have been trying to come up with additional formations, departure procedures, and coordinated assaults, should we encounter additional enemy forces in the near future.”
“Rank structure, too,” added Octavia. “Now that we have a few dozen pilots trained up, it seemed fitting to break them into teams.”
“How’s that going?” I asked.
“We have four teams of six right now, each with a designated team leader, with more on the way,” said Alphonse.
“How long have the two of you been working on this?” I asked, since it was the first time I’d heard of any of this.
“Since the last meeting,” said Octavia.
I blinked. “Have you been here the entire time?”
They looked at each other, then again at me. “We thought it would be more productive,” said Alphonse.
“Shit,” I muttered. “And here I am coming off a nap.”
“Pardon the interruption,” said Athena, pulling my attention away. “We’ve arrived out of slipspace.”
I glanced up at the screen to see the darkness of normal space, filled with stars. “Any sign of the other Cognitive?”
“Not yet, but I am running multiple scans now,” said Athena.
The screen changed to show a map of the galaxy, zooming in on our location. We all waited in anticipation. After nearly a full minute, I opened my mouth to ask Athena what exactly was taking her so long when a red dot materialized on the map.
“I found something,” said the Cognitive, turning to the image.
“What’s that supposed to be?” I asked. “Another drone?”
Several more dots appeared alongside the first, filling the area around the star. “It seems my initial assessment of the drones’ flight path was premature,” said Athena. “They’ve been redirected to another location.”
“Do we know why?” asked Octavia.
The map magnified again to show a planet with several moons around it. A line of text appeared next to a section of the northernmost continent, reading, Tyche Re-supply Station.
“Looks like there’s something there,” I muttered.
“It seems the drones are congregating here. This is most unusual,” said Athena. “Their priority is to guard their designation quadrant. There’s no reason for them to be there.”
“Could it have anything to do with Hephaestus?” asked Alphonse.
“That was my first assumption, but I’ve already sent six requests to contact him and have received no response.”
“Do you have any suggestions?” I asked, then looked at the others. “Do either of you?”
“We should go and see what they’re doing,” said Octavia.
“The drones?” I asked. “Why would you want to get closer to those things after what happened before?”
“Wait,” said Athena, looking back at the screen. “The ships are dispersing.”
Sure enough, the red dots gathered like a swarm and moved away from the planet. They traveled to the far side of the solar system, paused for several seconds, and then disappeared.
“They’ve gone into slipspace,” said the Cognitive.
“Where are they off to now?” asked Alphonse.
“Unknown, but their trajectory suggests they have moved further into Earth’s territory.” Athena looked at me. “Captain, I suggest we investigate Tyche.”
“Not you, too,” I said, shaking my head. “Have you people had enough?”
“Normally, I would err on the side of caution,” said Athena. “However, given the warning we received as well as the strange activity from the drones, I believe any information we can ascertain would only prove beneficial.”
I shot a quick glance at Alphonse. “Thoughts?”
He took a second to answer, looking up at the display, probably weighing all of the information. “It’s better to have all the information you can, rather than run blindly into the dark. I believe the risk is worth the chance to learn whatever we can.”
I sighed. “Figures the Constable would say that.” I looked at Athena. “Alright, then. Take us to this Tyche Station place, but park this Moon near the slip tunnel. We’ll use The Star to sneak a proper look without getting spotted, just in case there’s anyone there.”
“We’ll have fighters standing by, just in case,” said Alphonse.
I looked at the planet on the display. “Something else, Athena, if you’ve got a second.”
“Of course, Captain.”
“When we were on Abaddon, that Hephaestus protocol somehow shut our comms down. Let’s see if we can keep that from happening this time.”
“Yes, that was certainly a problem,” acknowledged Athena. “In fact, since our last meeting, Sigmond and I have been working to find a solution.”
“And?” I asked.
She smiled. “I believe we may have succeeded.”
Fifteen
“Are you sure you’re okay with this, Siggy?” I asked, sitting in the landing bay, talking to the A.I. over my comm.
“I believe the additional expansion to my program will allow me to better serve you, sir,” explained Sigmond. “As such, I can only support the decision.”
“You don’t mind having Athena screwing around in there?” I asked.
According to Athena, giving Sigmond additional upgrades would allow him to better navigate between the ship and our visors, while also giving him the ability to ward off any intrusive programs, including other Cognitives or A.I.’s. She’d loaded him up with the best digital defense system she had available—the same one she used, herself. The only caveat was that he’d have to receive even more enhancements from Janus’s Cognitive shell, something I remained entirely skeptical about, despite all the reassurances.
“I have no opinion on the matter, sir. My programming requires that I do whatever is necessary to assist the ship and its crew.”
“Yeah, I figured you’d say that,” I remarked. “Just make sure you let me know if anything feels…off.”
“Of course, sir,” said the A.I.
I spotted Abigail and Dressler arriving through the corridor, with Freddie and Karin trailing behind.
“Looks like we’re all here,” I said to them, thumbing toward my ship. “We ready to head out?”
“When you are,” said Abigail.
I started walking, motioning for them to follow. “I want everyone suited up and ready. Make sure you’re all armed, too.” I looked at Dressler. “That goes for everyone.”
“I’d rather not,” said the doctor.
“No offense, Doc, but we’ve got no idea what’s down there. I told Alphonse to run you through some training, didn’t I?”
“Target practice,” she said, like it meant nothing.
“That’ll do for now,” I told her. “And hey, maybe you’ll get lucky and get to use it.”
Her lips twisted at the sound of that, making her look uneasy. She certainly wasn’t a fighter or a soldier. Just a scientist who’d spent her life in a lab. But she’d cho
sen to stick around on Titan with the rest of us, fighting this fight, and that meant having to make sacrifices. If she had to get her hands a little dirty with a gun or two, then so be it.
As the gate closed behind us, I started getting dressed in my environmental suit, finally sealing my helmet and strapping a pistol to my side. In a matter of minutes, I was on my way to the cockpit, ready to leave.
“Siggy, is the ship prepped?” I asked, passing through the lounge.
“Pre-flight is done, sir. All systems are ready. Awaiting your orders.”
I strapped into my seat, fastening my harness. The Foxxy Stardust bobblehead on my dash wobbled as I shifted, and I reached out and tapped its head. “Guess we ought to be on with it, then,” I said, my eyes focused on the little pink toy. “Hit the thrusters.”
* * *
We left Titan on the other side of the system, masked by a large gas giant. The holo showed no sign of activity in the system, although I kept the ship cloaked to be safe. Given what I’d seen of these drones so far, they could be anywhere, just waiting for us to get within firing distance.
The Renegade Star arrived above the Tyche Resupply Station in short time. I already knew the facility was on the northernmost continent, but it seemed the season wasn’t prime for snowing. Quite the opposite, in fact, since the local temperature was somewhere in the sweaty-ass range.
Thank the gods for internal suit cooling, I thought.
We broke orbit and began our descent to the northern continent. I had Siggy running continuous scans to avoid any last-minute surprises, but so far everything seemed to be fairly calm.
As we neared the landing point, I quickly realized why.
“Captain, your attention, please,” said Sigmond. A light blinked on the holo.
I tapped it, and the image magnified, showing me a broken section of the compound, an entire wall torn open from the outside. “Did the drones do this?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“Unknown, sir,” said Sigmond. “However, scans indicate the blast took place only hours prior to our arrival.”
“So, that’s a yes,” I said, staring at the image. “Perfect.”
I got to my feet. “Set us down, nice and easy, Siggy.”
