Paradise 21

by Aubrie Dionne

  “No, sir.”

  He eyed the boy as Loot picked up a laser, wondering how he’d gotten mixed up with Drifter and Tiff. “Did you come from the orphanage on Outpost Omega?”

  “That’s where my first memories were. I ran away when I grew large enough to fend for myself. Tiff found me and took me in.”

  Loot’s wiry body barely filled his shirt and breeches and his eyes looked almost feral in the blue light. Striker wondered where the boy’s parents had run off to. Outpost Omega brimmed with orphans, most of them dying before they reached adulthood. Loot was fortunate. It didn’t sound like Tiff to take anyone in, but maybe she’d grown up a little. Maybe he’d judged her too harshly.

  “You’re lucky Tiff took you in.”

  “I know you don’t like her, sir. But she’s got a lot of good in her. It’s just hidden underneath all that spite.”

  “It’s too late for me and Tiff, son. But I wish you and her the best. You both can come with me to Refuge. I’m going to invite everyone at Outpost Omega. No one should have to live a life like yours, not even pirates.”

  “You really are a hero.” Loot looked up to him, making Striker smile.

  “Nah. I’m just another man looking for a better world.”

  “I hope you find it, sir. I hope we all do.”

  Striker squeezed the boy’s shoulder before checking on another laser. “You can stay on the ship with Reckon. He’ll look after you while I’m on the New Dawn.”

  “That’s why I came to talk to you, sir.” The boy raised his head to meet Striker’s gaze. “I’m going with you.”

  Loot’s determination pained Striker’s heart. He shook his head. “It’s too dangerous. You’re much better off staying on the ship with Reckon. You can help him keep the pace steady as he maintains the corridor.”

  “I’m old enough to make my own decision, Captain.” The boy’s voice hardened. “I want to help you. One man can’t take on a whole colony ship.”

  Striker put his laser down and studied Loot. At that age, every boy felt invincible. He didn’t want Loot learning of his mortality the hard way. “It’s a dangerous mission. You’d be risking your life.”

  Loot snapped back the laser in a smooth motion. It was recharged, ready to fire. “I know how to work these.” His eyes challenged him. “I’ve done it before.”

  “The boy’s right,” Reckon chimed in behind them. He’d been so quiet, Striker had forgotten he was there. “Striker, you can’t go in alone. You can’t trust Drifter. He’d shoot you in the back if he had the chance.”

  “I don’t like the idea of putting the boy in danger.”

  “Please, sir.” Loot stepped forward. “I’ve dreamed of a mission like this all my life. I’m curious about these colonists and I want to see the inside of their ship.”

  Striker ran his fingers along the barrel of the laser. Loot reminded him of himself as a boy, eager for adventure and ready to change the world. “All right. Stay close to me at all times.”

  “Yes, sir.” A smile flickered across his face. “I won’t let you down.”

  The screen beeped, and Striker turned to the sight panel. A glint of silver winked at them from the corner of the display.

  Reckon looked up from his simulations. “What is it?”

  Adrenaline rushed through Striker’s body. “Loot, round up the others and bring them to the main deck.” He wanted to jump at the sight panel and soar through space toward the silver speck. “It’s the New Dawn.”

  Reckon’s eyes opened wide. “Wow, there really is a New Dawn. Can you imagine? An entire city flying through space.” He turned to Striker. “Fly behind it. You’ll need to get within one mile of its hull for the corridor to work.”

  Striker took his place in the captain’s seat. As he navigated the ship closer, he saw the New Dawn for the first time. The cylindrical tube was made of the same metal as its surface vessels had been, but it was also surrounded by rotating gravity rings. The New Dawn was twenty times the size of the alien craft, and he felt like a guppy swimming alongside a shark. As his ship came up behind the New Dawn, he searched for an entrance point along the rear of the hull.

  “Will they see us trailing them?” Reckon’s voice faltered.

  “I doubt they’re focused on what’s behind them.” Striker winked and found an entry point on the lower left side. “Over there.” He pointed to a door hatch as the details of the New Dawn came into view. “It’s a loading dock. Set your coordinates.”

  “Yes, sir.” Reckon’s fingers flew over the panels, the wires he held touching all the right symbols. “I’m creating the first of the pressure points.”

  Striker stifled a surge of impatience. Aries would still be there in the next five minutes and even fifteen. He had to keep his composure if he was to save her. “How long will it take?”

  Reckon shook his head. “Not long.”

  Tiff and Drifter emerged on the main deck, bickering like children left alone for too long. Drifter was the loudest. “You’re just a skanky pirate wench who—freakin’ quasars! That’s the colony ship?”

  “Tie him to the pedestal in the back of the deck, Loot,” Striker said. “He’s staying here with Reckon.”

  As Loot secured Drifter to the ship, Striker said under his breath, “Reckon, can you handle him while we’re gone?”

  “If he’s tied up, yes.” Reckon nodded. “I’ll be fine.”

  A light reflected off the New Dawn’s hull as Reckon used the alien technology to create the corridor in space. “I’ve attached it to our upper hatch.” On the main sight panel, a stream of white light illuminated the walkway. “It’s ready.”

  Striker threw a laser to Loot and gave him a nod. “Let’s go.”

  He moved to the door, but a small hand grasped his arm. “I’m coming, too.”

  Tiff sounded desperate. Striker didn’t know if it were for the boy’s safety or his own. He didn’t care.

  “No, you’re not. Stay here. Watch over Drifter.”

  “Like hell I will.” She dug her nails into his arm. He could see the resolve in the hard set of her jaw.

  “Tiff, let me go.”

  She held on tight. “You can trust me, Striker. I owe it to you to help after—after—that Sahara thing.”

  It was as much of an apology as he’d ever get. He couldn’t deny her this request. Even if he left without her, she’d follow him.

  “Okay.” He gestured to the lasers. “Take as many as you can carry.”

  He gave Reckon a nod and left without another backward glance. The most important rescue mission of his life stood before him. He’d stolen a lot of things as a pirate. Never another human being, but how hard could it be?

  “You sure you trust this alien technology?” Tiff crossed her arms. Although she tried to look tough, Striker could see a glimmer of fear in her eyes.

  “Reckon’s been testing it the whole way here.” They reached the platform, and he traced the familiar pattern on the wall.

  “What if it doesn’t work?”

  Striker had the same growing doubt, but he squashed it immediately. This was the only way to get Aries back. “Everything else onboard has worked. Reckon’s a coding genius.”

  They stepped on the platform. The hieroglyphics pulsed around him, and he traced the geometric patterns.

  “Here we go.” The platform rose. Striker checked his handheld scanner. “It’s registering atmospheric conditions on the other side.” The hatch opened slowly above their heads, revealing a glimmering, star-speckled sky.

  Loot released his breath as if he’d been holding it the whole trip up. “We’re not dead.” The boy’s voice resonated like they were in a tunnel, but it felt like they stood in the center of the universe, the stars stretching out at their fingertips.

  Striker put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Nope. We’re not.”

  “Way cool to the max.”

  Without the corridor, they’d be sucked out into space, but now they stood atop the ship in a bu
bble of pressurized air as it kept pace with the New Dawn. The view was quite a sight, infinite space without a thick layer of metal or glass in between him and the vast unknown. As he glanced up at the New Dawn, his dreamy thoughts fizzled out. There was a mission to accomplish. Aries was trapped somewhere inside.

  Striker looked back at Tiff and Loot. “We’re going to have to jump.”

  “You’re kidding, right? Jump onto what? There’s only space for millions of miles around.” Tiff clung to the hatch as if she’d blow away. Striker didn’t even feel a hint of a breeze. The chamber was secure.

  “I’ll go first.” As he jumped, Tiff and Loot screamed behind him. He didn’t fall very far. His boots hit an invisible barrier and he stood on open space, feeling like he was a god walking on thin air.

  “Monstrously awesome!” Loot’s voice was hoarse with awe. The boy followed him and leaped onto the corridor, throwing his arms out to keep his balance. Tiff slid down the side of the alien ship slowly, testing the boundaries. Once her feet touched the bottom of the barrier, Striker turned toward the New Dawn.

  “Let’s go.”

  They followed him, walking through space on an invisible runway to the outer hull of the New Dawn. Striker found the panel for the loading dock and got to work decoding the door.

  Tiff shifted from foot to foot, as if she were afraid to step too long in one spot. “Let’s hope Reckon can keep this thing in place.”

  “It’ll hold. Just get ready,” Striker said, keeping his head down over the panel.

  Tiff adjusted the shoulder straps for her lasers. “I’m always ready.”

  Striker punched in the code sequence. The door beeped once and opened. “Easy as pie.”

  It reminded Striker of his own ship bay. This place glowed brighter than Outpost Omega, as if everything had been preserved from the old Earth days, brand spanking new. The loading dock seemed empty, but red warning lights flashed inside.

  “You’ve set off the alarm,” Tiff spat as they jumped inside and ducked behind a storage bin.

  Striker ran a hand over his hair. “That’s impossible. I decoded it and turned it off.” He checked the panel on the inside of the door and punched in a few sequences. “No. This alarm was going off before we got here.”

  He read the information flashing on the tiny screen. “It’s a code red, section eight alpha: prisoner escapee. They have no idea we’re onboard.”

  …

  Every computer and wall panel Aries passed flickered on, streaming Barliss’ face. She couldn’t get away from him and the search teams were closing in. His voice resonated on the intercom. “Aries, there’s nowhere to hide.”

  If he thought she’d go back into that prison cell of a room, he was wrong. Aries ran through an empty lab, knocking vials of seeds to the ground. If only she could get to the escape pods.

  She tripped on a garden hose and skidded on her elbows across the floor, banging her head. Pain erupted behind her forehead and zapped her courage. Who was she kidding? The New Dawn had traveled so far from Sahara 354, she’d need a whole other spaceship to go back, not some rickety escape pod.

  The computer on the table above her head booted up, and she picked herself up again, ducking underneath the desk before the familiar image could solidify. Barliss had her cornered. He was right: there was nowhere to hide. Curled up into a fetal position under the desk, she heard footsteps run past. It would only be a matter of minutes before they found her.

  Aries held her breath, her heart thumping so hard she could feel it in her throat.

  “The lieutenant said the trail ends here.”

  “Yeah, it looks like she’s been here.” She heard the man kick a vial across the floor and watched it settle just beyond her nose.

  “Been here and gone.”

  “Jeez, you’d think she was a ghost.”

  “Come on. Let’s keep going. There are three more greenhouses to sweep.”

  The two men left and Aries released her breath.

  She’d fooled them, but Barliss had closed in on her location and search crews trapped her from both directions. An overwhelming urge to cry erupted in her chest, but she swallowed it back down.

  No. She’d run no longer. This was no way to live her life.

  Aries stood up. Fear had been a constant companion all her life, eroding each day into silent worries and controlling each decision she made. This day, her fear would cease.

  Aries strode swiftly to the computer and banged on the keypad, bringing the screen to life.

  “Barliss, I know you’re in there.”

  His face appeared through the static. He didn’t wait for the edges to solidify before speaking.

  “Yes, Aries.”

  “I’m ready to talk to you. You know where I am. Come alone and I won’t run.”

  Before he could respond, she took a step back, brought her knee up nearly to her chin and kicked out, hard, at the monitor. The heel of her boot shattered the screen.

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Battle in the Bio-dome

  “How in all the universe are we going to find her?” Tiff peered over a supply container, her laser cocked and ready to fire. Loot crept across the other side of the loading bay, scouting.

  “I’m working on that.” Striker glared at her and resumed hacking into the computer’s systems. The clearance codes were tiresome but easy enough to figure out. Striker conducted a file search and found Aries’ name on the prisoner cells. “Here she is: sector eight alpha, cell fifty-seven.”

  “Great.” Tiff’s voice was less than enthusiastic. “Let’s go get her and get the hell outta here.”

  Striker read through the information. “It’s not that simple.” A rush of pride burned in his chest as he searched for her. “It appears she’s the prisoner that’s escaped.”

  “Shit.” Tiff’s face soured even more. “She’ll be even harder to find, and we won’t be the only ones looking for her.”

  Striker gained access to the progress of the search teams. “They haven’t found her yet. The last sighting was near the bio-dome.”

  A laser fired across the loading dock, hitting the chrome above their heads. Striker and Tiff ducked and turned around.

  “Oh no. Loot.” Tiff moved to run after him.

  Striker held her back. “We can’t help him if we’re both dead. This way.” He gestured around the back of the loading dock where the machinery sat, unused.

  “If anything’s happened to him…” Tiff hissed.

  They heard scuffling and hid behind a mammoth vehicle, its wheels taller than they were, combined. Striker pressed his back against the rubber tire, thinking of a plan.

  “It’s all right. You can come out now.” Loot’s voice rang out and Striker’s chest heaved with relief.

  “Told you I could take care of myself.” The boy dragged an unconscious man behind him and dumped him at Striker’s feet. “I caught him just before he alerted anyone.”

  Striker smiled, impressed. “Good work, Loot.”

  The boy shrugged, but Striker could tell he valued the compliment, because his mouth quirked in a smile despite his effort to appear casual. “Come on, sir. I’ve found a maintenance shaft leading to the upper decks.”

  Tiff ruffled Loot’s hair. “If anyone can work their way through the air shafts, it’s Loot.” She looked back at Striker as the boy led the way.

  Striker still had trouble reconciling the selfish Tiff he knew with the one who was so protective of a child.

  Loot brought them to the base of a ladder at least twenty decks high. Loot jumped up and started to climbed as nimbly as a monkey. He called down, “Which deck is the bio-dome?”

  “Deck fifteen.” Striker waited as Tiff began the climb, then he followed, concentrating only on the rung in front of him, and on Aries. His skin burned as he thought of seeing her again.

  “Are we almost there?” Tiff panted.

  Loot looked down at both of them and shook his head. “That leaves us thirteen more decks t
o climb.”

  “Ugh.” Tiff quickened her pace and Striker followed. For her this was a chore, a means to get to Refuge, but for him, this mission was his destiny.

  “Striker, can you find the door entry code?” Loot asked, as they reached the right deck.

  “Sure.” He pulled himself up on the landing and immediately went to work on what he did best: decoding. In moments, the door dematerialized and a strange smell wafted into the maintenance shaft. It was an earthy tang, like the soil on Sahara 354, but with a pungent humidity Striker had never experienced before.

  “What is it?” Tiff’s pixie nostrils flared and her face scrunched up.

  “Trees.” Striker peered into the deck. “It’s a forest.”

  They stepped from the metal maintenance shaft into an ocean of green.

  “Whoa.” Loot whispered, brushing a fern out of his way. “It’s like a real forest from before the destruction of old Earth.”

  “Leave it to the colonists to take everything that matters with them.” Tiff ran her hand over a leaf. “Leaving us with nothing.”

  “Come on.” Striker picked his way through the squishy soil. “I see a break in the trees. This way.”

  At the edge of the forest, they faced an expanse of crops, gardens and greenhouses. The artificial light replicated old Earth sunbeams, shining down over the massive terrarium which teemed with life—including human life. Striker could hear men’s voices.

  “Let’s get a better view.” Striker gestured toward the trees. He climbed one, while Tiff and Loot each climbed into the ones beside him. From his vantage point, he took in the situation at a glance. Humans in white lab coats combed the fields like ants and patrolled the gardens down every row.

  “Obviously, she’s not here.” Tiff crouched on a branch of the adjacent tree. “They would have found her by now.”

  “Just wait.”

  Tiff’s lips thinned. “We’re sitting targets, and this bio-dome is swarming with colonists.”

  Only half-listening to her complaints, Striker spotted the same henchman who’d threatened to blow his legs off on Sahara 354. The man strode across the main walkway and turned toward the greenhouses. Uniformed people followed in his wake, but he waved them back as he got closer to the greenhouses. All the people in white lab coats had stopped searching, and now stood in place like pieces on a chessboard, waiting for giant fingers to move them around.