Armageddon

by Jasper T. Scott

  “You’re making a mistake,” Ethan said once they were back on the street.

  The Peacekeeper holding him spared a glance at his fallen colleague. “You’re right. I should have shot you, not taken you into custody.”

  Ethan grimaced. He considered trying to tell these two the truth about Omnius, but they had no reason to trust him, and conspiracy theories were nothing new on Avilon. He would have to wait for Therius’s message.

  As the Peacekeepers dragged him down the street, Ethan’s thoughts turned to his family. It was too late for him to help the Union take Avilon, but maybe it wasn’t too late to find Alara and Trinity. The problem was even if the Peacekeepers holding him suddenly switched sides when they got Therius’s message, he didn’t know where Alara lived.

  If the Omninet were back online, all it would take is a simple query to find them. Ethan shook his head. There had to be another way….

  Suddenly he had it. Therius’s message! In order to send it they needed to disable the Eclipser. Maybe not for long, but maybe long enough.

  Ethan had to get to a computer terminal. Turning to the nearest Peacekeeper, he said, “I know why Omnius is offline.”

  “Shut up.” The Peacekeeper tightened his grip and gave Ethan’s arm a violent tug.

  “If you take me to a computer terminal, I can bring him back.”

  The Peacekeeper stopped dragging him, and turned to glare at him. “How do I know you’re not going to make things worse?”

  “The data terminals are all offline. They’re useless right now, so you have nothing to lose.”

  “Why would you help us? A second ago you were trying to convince me that you were going to set us free from Omnius. Bringing him back online is the opposite of that.”

  “I should have been more specific. The fleet I came with is here to set you free, but I have my own agenda. I’m here to rescue my family, and I need the Omninet to find them. Do you see me surrounded by an army of soldiers? I’m on my own down here for a reason.”

  “Omnius won’t let you leave Avilon. How do you plan to rescue your family if he’s back online?”

  “He’s going to be too busy fighting off the invasion to stop me. I’ll have my chance.”

  The other Peacekeeper spoke up, “We’ve got nothing to lose by trying.”

  The first Peacekeeper scowled and shook his head. “You do anything suspicious, and I’ll shoot you dead.”

  “Agreed.”

  The Peacekeepers dragged him toward the nearest building, and hope swelled in Ethan’s chest. He couldn’t believe he’d convinced them. Just as soon as the Omninet came back online, he’d use it to find Alara and Trinity. Now, no matter what Avilon’s fate, at least his world would be safe.

  He would make sure of it.

  Chapter 40

  “That’s quite a story,” the Peacekeeper pinning Atta to the wall said. “If Omnius created the Sythians, then why seed the Getties with nanites to destroy them?”

  “Not to destroy them, to cover up his lies,” Atta said. “The Getties is full of artifacts from an ancient human civilization, artifacts that prove Etherianism predates Avilon, for one. For another, there’s proof that Omnius found quantum tech and reverse-engineered it. How do you think we surprised Omnius with a quantum jammer powerful enough to knock out communications all over Avilon? We found the same things he did and more.”

  The Peacekeeper deactivated his faceplate, revealing a strong jaw and bright blue eyes glowing in the light of his ARCs. “That still doesn’t make sense,” the Peacekeeper insisted. “And I’ll tell you why—I already know everything that you just told me. Omnius already told me the truth, and he’s told many others, too. Why cover up the lies if he’s just going to reveal them all later?”

  Atta saw the other Peacekeepers trading glances with each other. Omnius’s machinations were obviously news to them, but the blue-caped Peacekeeper had just confirmed everything she’d said. The problem was, if he already knew the truth, then why was he fighting her?

  Atta frowned, suddenly uncertain about the invasion. “You’re telling me you know what Omnius is, and you serve him willingly anyway?”

  “Omnius’s disciples worship him in truth, knowing exactly who and what he is. He is too powerful to resist, so we don’t even try. We have accepted our fate because there is no other choice.”

  “But you’re free! We disabled Omnius. Now there is a choice!”

  “So it would seem…” the Peacekeeper replied. He withdrew and the bright glow of grav guns faded from his palms.

  No longer pinned to the wall, Atta fell from it with a thud. She looked around quickly. Union soldiers clambered to their feet all around her. Now the Avilonians were helping them up rather than holding them down. But not everyone got up. At least a full squad of Zephyrs and Gors lay motionless and half-buried under rubble.

  “You killed them. You knew—” Atta said, rounding on the Peacekeeper standing beside her. “You knew we came to set you free, and you killed them anyway.”

  “We had no way of knowing Omnius’s absence was a result of your intervention, or even that he would stay offline, and we couldn’t risk taking the losing side in a war.”

  Atta regarded the man with a scowl. “That sounds like something a coward would say.”

  “We all do what we must to survive. If you didn’t want anyone to die, then you shouldn’t have come. Besides, your soldiers are not the only ones who have died today.”

  Atta considered pointing out that casualties on both sides could have been prevented if they’d surrendered, but what was done was done.

  “We need to tell the rest of Avilon the truth,” she said. “If we don’t stop fighting each other soon, we’re all going to die. How many drones are there on Avilon?”

  “Trillions,” the Peacekeeper replied.

  “Frek…” Atta muttered. “Then we might all die anyway.”

  “Not if we stand together,” the Peacekeeper said, and thrust out his hand. Atta eyed it. “Strategian Galan Rovik,” he said. “And you are?”

  “Atta Heston,” she replied, accepting the handshake.

  The man’s eyebrows floated up and he smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Atta. Your father and I are good friends.”

  Atta’s heart began racing in her chest and her grip tightened involuntarily. “You know him? Where is he?”

  “In the Null Zone. I can introduce you when this is all over if you like.”

  Atta blinked, shock and excitement waging war inside of her. This man knew her father!

  Then her comms crackled, interrupting her thoughts. “We’re ready to send the message, General! Get that Eclipser offline!”

  Atta replied, “Stand by, Corporal.” Then she sent a comm to the Rictans, “Magnum, General Heston here, what’s your status?”

  The sound of weapons fire raged through Atta’s helmet, making it all but impossible to hear what was said. “Pinned down! Tak… h-vy fire!”

  A titanic boom roared over the comms, followed by static. Krssssss…

  “Magnum!”

  Silence.

  “Frek!” Atta screamed.

  Then her comms crackled again, but without the noise from before. “Sorry about that, General. Carnage just handled the situation with a plasma grenade. We’re falling back, on our way to reinforce your position as ordered.”

  “Well stop and hold where you are! Operation Whistle-blower is a go. Get ready to disable the Eclipser on my command.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Atta ended the comms and turned to Galan Rovik. She nodded to him and said, “You think you can hold this position?”

  “The Eclipser—that’s your jamming device?”

  Atta frowned, wondering how he’d overheard her conversation. Then she realized that she’d forgotten to turn off her external speakers. Atta grimaced. It was a good thing these Peacekeepers were on their side now, but she chose to not to answer Galan’s question. She didn’t have time to explain. “Can you hold he
re or not?”

  “Of course,” he replied.

  “Good.” She turned and motioned for the remaining Zephyrs to hold with them.

  A lone Gor responded with a hiss. “They kill my crechemates,” he said, his gaze fixed on the nearest Peacekeeper. “I do not fight beside murderers.”

  “We killed their people, too,” Atta replied. “We have to move past that or this will all be for nothing.”

  Another hiss was the Gor’s only reply. Atta grimaced and took off at a run. She felt like the entire operation teetered on a knife’s edge, but despite that uncertainty, there was a sullen hope.

  Her father was alive. She reached the control center where she’d left the techs. The one she’d spoken with earlier turned and nodded to her as she ran up behind him.

  “We’re ready when you are, General!” he said.

  Atta commed the Rictans, “Disable the Eclipser!”

  Magnum replied, “Disabling in three, two, one, zero.”

  “Punch it!” Atta said, speaking to the tech.

  “Message transmitting!” he replied.

  * * *

  Ethan ran system diagnostics and checked network settings from the data terminal, hoping the Peacekeepers who’d brought him there wouldn’t notice he was stalling for time.

  One of them jabbed him in the ribs. “You don’t have a clue what you’re doing. Even I can see that!”

  “Give me a minute!” Ethan said.

  “Sure we’ll give you all the time in the…” The Peacekeeper trailed off and Ethan turned to see both him and his partner stumbling around in circles, their heads turning every which way at once, as if plagued by a cloud of invisible insects.

  It took Ethan a second to realize the moment he’d been waiting for had come. They were blind, their augmented reality contacts were transmitting Therius’s message right before their eyes. As Ethan watched, both Peacekeepers lost their balance and fell over with a noisy clatter of armor. They began struggling to regain their footing, but only half-heartedly.

  Ethan chided himself for wasting time and hurriedly turned to the data terminal. He put together a query in his head and said: “Find Address: Alara Ortane. Description: violet eyes, dark hair, has daughter Trinity, husband Ethan.”

  He held his breath while the search ran. He half expected it to fail. He had no way of knowing how long the Eclipser would be disabled. How long would the Union need to send a message to trillions of people? Come on… Ethan thought. Then the screen changed, and an address popped up.

  Alara Ortane Lives in Etheria, Level 20, Fairhaven District, Block 17, Fairview Tower, Apartment 20G.

  Ethan couldn’t believe it! He quickly memorized the address and turned to leave—

  But he caught himself. The Omninet was still online, and there was something else he needed to know. He needed a way to get his family off Avilon.

  Ethan quickly spoke another query to the terminal: “Location for captured Imperial transport, name Trinity, museum piece, former owner Ethan Ortane.”

  With fewer records to search this time, the terminal answered his query instantly.

  Celesta, Ground Level, Heritage District, Block 67, History Towers, History of Space Flight Exhibit.

  Ethan memorized that address, too, and then turned from the terminal for a second time. He risked a glance at the Peacekeepers who’d arrested him. They’d stopped struggling to get up. Now they lay staring up at the ceiling, watching whatever it was that Therius had decided to show them. Ethan considered waiting for the transmission to end and asking them for help, but he realized he couldn’t be sure what side they’d be on. Therius’s message might fail to convince them. It wasn’t worth the risk.

  But something else was.

  The nearest Peacekeeper had a sidearm holstered to his hip, along with several grenades and spare charge packs for his weapon. Ethan dropped to his haunches and began unbuckling the man’s belt, being careful not to alert the Peacekeeper to what he was doing. Once the belt was free, he gave a quick tug and leapt away. The belt came away in his hands, and the Peacekeeper reacted by flailing around blindly for him. Ethan drew the stolen sidearm and leveled it on the man’s head, but the Peacekeeper subsided once more, still preoccupied by whatever he was seeing.

  Ethan buckled on the belt and ran as fast as his legs would take him. Everywhere he looked, people lay collapsed on the ground, staring blindly up at the ceiling. The data terminal he’d been using was in a hover train station. There’d been plenty of travelers passing through at the time he’d arrived, but now all of those travelers had been struck down by Therius’s revelation.

  Ethan had to concentrate as he ran just to avoid stepping on people’s outstretched hands and feet.

  All around him, people shouted exclamations of “I knew it!” and “I don’t believe it!” and sometimes, defiant cries of, “Omnius grando est!”

  The latter group made him snort with disgust. Some people embraced lies so eagerly that they would never believe the truth.

  Ethan reached the nearest hover train and raced aboard, hoping the trains would still be working when Omnius went offline again. Since they ran on a track rather than a simulated street, he was pretty sure they didn’t require either quantum communications or constant intervention from Omnius to keep them running. As he came aboard, he noticed the train was full of passengers, and he considered that a good sign. None of them saw him as he came aboard. Their glowing eyes were glazed and flickering with miniature holo recordings. Ethan found a seat by the entrance.

  Not long after that, the train gave an automated warning that the doors were about to close, and passengers began snapping out of it. Ethan watched their glowing eyes dart around the inside of the train, and he realized that he wasn’t wearing ARCs. Some of these people might find that suspicious, but no one seemed to notice.

  Suddenly the train raced out of the station, going from zero to a hundred klicks in the blink of an eye. Inertial management reduced the sensation of acceleration to a mild tug, but it was enough to snap people out of their confusion.

  The passenger car erupted in noisy chatter. People jumped to their feet, fists and jaws clenched, spoiling for a fight.

  One man cried out, “I’m gonna kill that frekkin’ bot!”

  Someone else said, “You fool! Etheria is a paradise! Life has never been so good. Who cares if he lied? Look at everything he’s done for us!”

  The first one started cursing at the second, and then everyone pitched in with their thoughts.

  Ethan watched the developing confrontation carefully, holding his stolen sidearm in a loose grip in his lap, just in case.

  Across the aisle from him a redhead with wide, glowing magenta eyes spotted his weapon and opened her mouth to say something. Then she appeared to think better of it and shut her mouth.

  Ethan nodded to her and smiled. “Do you know how I can get to Fairhaven District?” he had to yell to be heard above the ruckus of people arguing inside the train. “I’m looking for my wife and daughter!”

  The redhead shook her head quickly and looked away. Ethan wondered if she’d seen that he wasn’t wearing ARCs and that was what had scared her into silence.

  “Are you sure?” he insisted. “You must have an idea where it is. You live in Etheria, right? Please. It’s important.”

  “I—it’s near the end of the line,” she stuttered.

  “Thank you!” Ethan replied.

  “You’re not from here?” she asked.

  “Not Etheria, no. It’s a long story. I’m taking my family and leaving Avilon before things get any worse,” he replied.

  “You have a ship? You’re a pilot?”

  Ethan nodded.

  “Can I… can I come with you?”

  Ethan hesitated, suddenly worried about what his wife would say about him picking up pretty girls after he told her what had happened with Valari, but these were extenuating circumstances. Anyone they left behind would either die in the fighting, or return to slavery with Om
nius. Either way, not a happy ending.

  “Just try to keep up,” he said.

  “I will. I promise.”

  Chapter 41

  —30 Minutes Earlier—

  Hoff simultaneously pushed the throttle past the speed limit and pulled out of the simulated street onto an illegal flight path. Shining windows flashed by to either side, forming racing rivers of light.

  Hoff had spent the better part of an hour trying to provoke a response from Omnius before he’d realized what was happening.

  Omnius is offline!

  He had to get home, and fast. He had no idea how long it would last, or even whether or not it was a trick designed to test loyalties, but he couldn’t afford not to take advantage of it. He planned to get his family and run with them as fast and as far as he could. They had to find a way out of the Null Zone, find a ship to steal, and then find a way to disable their Lifelinks…

  One obstacle at a time.

  First things first—he had to rescue them from their so-called guardian drone, Triple Nine. She was really an assassin, and she was there to remind Hoff that his family’s well-being depended on his performance as the leader of the White Skulls.

  But now all of that might finally be at an end. There were rumors of a battle raging in the Uppers. The Sythians were invading.

  Hoff ducked and wove through streams of traffic, taking the shortest and most direct route possible to get home.

  Air cars crisscrossed the sky in every possible direction—people racing home, or to wherever they thought would be the safest. So far no debris had come crashing down from the Uppers, but Hoff knew that couldn’t last.

  After a few narrow scrapes in alleyways and one near miss with a pedestrian hover-train, Hoff raced inside his garage and left the car with the engine running. With one hand on the butt of his sidearm, he raced up the steps to the side entrance of his apartment and waited impatiently for the security system to recognize him. The door swished open, and he ran inside.