The Redwood Trilogy Box Set

by Jaxon Reed

  “In the meantime, we have some pressing issues to address. The GPs have apparently figured out the forest no longer holds any hematophagous primates. Our sensors indicate most of them have gathered at Ranger Station Alpha. No doubt they’re trying to figure out what to do next.”

  “And what do you think they’ll do?”

  “I think they’ll come here.”

  I grimaced.

  “Those suits they’re wearing seem pretty awesome,” I said. “They were able to fly down from their spaceship in them. You saw the cam feed from Monkey City? They’ve got enhanced strength, and no telling what kind of weaponry are built into those things. I don’t think the load bots can take them out.”

  “I agree. But, I’ve already asked our reinforcements from New Texas to stay in orbit. They just got here and hailed us a few minutes ago. But if they land, the GPs will have a way to get off-world again by capturing their ships. So long as we can hold onto Redwood City, they are essentially trapped. Even if they take over the cube, they still will not have a way to leave without assistance. And we should have plenty of time to prepare should it come to that.”

  -+-

  I spoke with everybody, and said hello to all the former residents of Ranger Station Alpha, along with several people I knew from Redwood City who were there.

  Finally, Dee Dee and I had a moment to ourselves.

  I said, “Have you seen the city?”

  She shook her head.

  “Not much of it. We’ve mostly been around the com center since we got here, worried about you.”

  “I never cared much for this place, but I do make a decent tour guide. Let me show you around.”

  We sneaked away from the crowd and I led her down the hall, holding her hand. I showed her Park 5, the giant atrium that always seems to impress first time visitors with its artificial waterfalls, piped-in sunlight, and lush greenery. Then I took her to the smaller Park 7, where I had often been assigned to work as a Servant.

  We took an elevator up to the roof, and I showed her the enclosed farmland up there. I talked about the occasional stray cats I had caught for food back in the days when I would have “disappeared” had the State known about my condition.

  We wandered over to the glass wall, and looked out on the landscape stretching far away from our vantage point a kilometer up.

  “This is the best part of Redwood City, the view.”

  She gasped at the sight, and we stood holding each other silently for a while, soaking up the sights. It was a cloudless day. The desert stretched out below us, and a ribbon of green dominated the horizon.

  Finally, she turned away and smiled at me.

  “Where did you live while you here?”

  “Servant Quarters. The least prestigious part of the city.”

  “I want to see it!”

  “There’s not much to see.”

  “Let’s go! I want to see where you grew up.”

  We took the elevator again and went down to Servant Quarters. I waved at a few guys I recognized. They gave us a double take. I suppose they still weren’t used to seeing a woman in the halls, even though the New Texas A&M team had been there a while.

  Finally we got to the door of my old room. I palmed the scanner and it opened.

  “Home sweet home for most of my life. Ten square meters all to myself. Or, about a hundred square feet. Roughly the size of a broom closet anywhere else.”

  The vid screen on the wall still showed a satellite view of Redwood from space.

  The door slid shut.

  Dee Dee turned to me.

  “It’s perfect!”

  After a month in a crowded spaceship, it felt great to finally get some alone time with her, even in my cramped quarters.

  A couple hours later the vid screen started flashing red, and a klaxon rang out. Professor Cruz’s face appeared on a broadcast message.

  “A few minutes ago, the group of Galactic Police who invaded our planet began making a beeline for Redwood City. We expect them to arrive near sundown or shortly after. I don’t think I need to remind you how important it is we hold them off. Even if they gain access to the cube, we will need to continue fighting them, and prevent them from gaining their objective. The fate of all humanity literally hangs in the balance.

  “We are taking steps to prepare for their arrival. Please meet with your supervisor immediately for further instructions.”

  -+-

  We hurried back to The Old Man’s headquarters. People bustled about, running down halls, yelling orders.

  We could feel the tension in the air as we walked into the communications center. Professor Cruz and Connie stood near the main console, along with Jason and Charlie. Ranger Jones stood to one side, fists on his hips.

  We waved at Connie, but she turned away and ignored us. I shrugged at Dee Dee. I could tell Connie giving us the cold shoulder bothered her. There wasn’t much we could do about it, though, especially with all the excitement going on around us.

  I whispered in Dee Dee’s ear, “Don’t worry about her.”

  Jason looked over his shoulder at us.

  “We’re tracking them by satellite. It looks like twenty or so are headed this way. The suits can fly, evidently.”

  The Professor nodded and spoke without turning.

  “Obviously it’s much higher technology than we’re used to out here on the end of the string. I’m worried we’re not even going to be able to slow them down before they get here. Jacob is supervising the catapults, but if those suits allow them to reenter the atmosphere without a ship, or even an escape pod, I don’t think flying rocks are going to do much.”

  He turned to Ranger Jones.

  “Brad, I want you and Leesa to send the synthetic birds flying. Get them out of scanner range and have them maintain a circular pattern somewhere. I wish we could operate the quadcopters by remote, but I’ll settle for keeping the birds safe.”

  Jones nodded and rushed out the door, headed for QC Bay.

  The Professor turned back to the monitor showing the progress of several dots heading our way.

  The computer interrupted his thoughts.

  “Incoming call.”

  President Montoya’s face appeared on the screen. We waited a moment for the buffering software to kick in.

  “Curt? Talk to me. We’re monitoring the situation from here. What can we do for you?”

  “You can start by getting me any information you might have on those suits they’re wearing. I’ve never seen anything like them. And what I’m really worried about is, we haven’t had a chance to see what kind of weaponry those things are equipped with.”

  Montoya nodded.

  “I know. We’re trying to access records, but even the copies from restricted Internet space that we still have available don’t show anything like this. My bet is, it’s is a classified weapon. The State would have kept a tight lid on it. Only thing I can suggest is try and develop some bombs like Polytech used on Alexandria.”

  The GPs on the outer planets wore suits that were mostly impervious to gunfire and other weapons. On Alexandria, where the fighting had been heaviest among the outer planets, students developed grenades that stuck to the GPs’ armor before exploding. They were not powerful explosives, but when stuck to the armor they proved devastating. The tide of battle finally turned in favor of the Universities thanks in part to those cleverly modified weapons.

  “I’m already on it, Tony. We have some bricks of plastic explosives that are much stronger than the stuff Polytech had. Once we run out, though, I hope it doesn’t come down to hand to hand combat. I don’t have very many people to begin with, and I can’t afford to lose anybody.”

  Montoya stared back at us grimly, and didn’t say anything for several seconds.

  “We’re going to try and find a way to reinforce you without landing the ships.”

  “Not a good idea, Tony.”

  “No, listen to me. We’re working on a way to guide the escape pods directly to
Redwood City. We can send you a bunch more people, heavily armed people, while leaving the ships in orbit. You won’t have to send anybody out to retrieve them, they can walk right in the loading dock.”

  “Tony, stop and think for a minute. They don’t know those ships are up there. You start sending us people in escape pods, and they will know.”

  Montoya shrugged.

  “So?”

  “So, if they can safely reenter the atmosphere without a pod, and if they can fly . . .”

  Montoya’s face dropped.

  “You seriously think those suits can attain escape velocity?”

  “I don’t know, Tony, but I wouldn’t doubt it. We don’t know what we’re up against. It’s too risky. If they get the blood, and then a spaceship, it’s all over.”

  Montoya considered it for a moment, then nodded. He glanced at Dee Dee and me.

  “Okay, Curtis. We’ll leave everyone in orbit for now. But if it looks like you need help, I’m sending them in.”

  “Promise me, you’ll only do that as a last resort, Tony.”

  After Montoya signed off, Professor Cruz turned and looked at us. Worry stretched across his face. I noticed more gray hair than when we first left for New Texas, and several more wrinkles.

  “You two are to stay out of sight until this is all over.”

  Dee Dee inhaled sharply, and I felt my back stiffen.

  She said, “Daddy, that’s ridiculous.”

  “I have to agree with her, sir. We’re the best shot you’ve got to take these guys on.”

  He shook his head, and his voice grew firm.

  “No. If either one of you is captured, we’ve lost everything. I thought about sending you away, but I think you’ll actually be harder to find in the city than outside it.

  “Connie, take them to the safe place.”

  Connie looked up, surprised.

  “But, Daddy I—”

  “Don’t argue! Take them now!”

  She hurried out, wiping away tears of anger and frustration.

  Professor Cruz turned back toward us, and his voice softened.

  “Follow her. And stay there until I tell you it’s okay to come out. I know you two could help, but right now they do not have a means to become hematophagous. I want to keep it that way.”

  I nodded, reluctantly, and shook his hand. He hugged Dee Dee while I shook Jason’s hand and hugged Charlie.

  We ran out the door to catch up with Connie.

  Chapter Four

  Connie made it halfway to the elevators before we caught up with her. She walked forward with determined steps, a scowl planted firmly on her face. All tears were gone now.

  She palmed the elevator’s pad and kept her back to us, arms crossed. When the door opened, she entered and pressed her back in a corner, keeping her eyes on the floor.

  As the elevator went up, we turned and looked at her. She ignored us.

  Dee Dee cleared her throat.

  “Connie, I’m so glad to see you again.”

  Connie didn’t say anything. She kept staring at the floor.

  Dee Dee moved closer to her and reached out. Connie slapped her hand away.

  “Don’t touch me! Don’t talk to me! Don’t have anything to do with me!”

  She glared at Dee Dee, hate radiating from her eyes.

  Dee Dee’s mouth dropped open.

  “Connie, it’s me. Your sister.”

  “You’re no sister of mine. You never were. And now that you’re a bloodsucker, now that you’re . . . like him, you don’t even deserve to live. Just stay away from me!”

  Dee Dee pulled back to the other side of the elevator, tears rolling down her cheeks. I wrapped my arm around her, offering what little comfort I could. The words hurt. Worse than being slapped across the face, I thought.

  We rode the rest of way up in awkward silence.

  I wasn’t surprised at Connie’s reaction. I knew she had a hard time with the whole “vampire” thing. Many people held the same attitude, including State bureaucrats who rounded up all the infected scientists from Redwood years ago and made sure anybody else showing symptoms “disappeared.”

  My closest encounter with somebody who really couldn’t handle it was with my fellow Servant, Peterson. When he found me drinking a baggie of blood on a trip back from New Texas, he attacked me. I had to defend myself. His death still haunts my dreams.

  Connie’s reaction was rough on us, especially Dee Dee. We had been considered heroes back on New Texas, and our battle exploits helped a lot of people get over the fact that we needed blood to survive. Plus, we had ready access to the University’s blood bank, and nobody ever felt threatened by us.

  While I had lived and coped with hematophagia for years, Dee Dee had never had to hide it. And Connie was family. She and Dee Dee had grown up together. So, Dee Dee took her rejection especially hard.

  Connie had not accompanied us to New Texas last year, and she had remained cool over the telepresense transmission of our wedding. But seeing her in the flesh for the first time in many months, and receiving a reception like this, brought all of these issues to the surface.

  I squeezed Dee Dee’s shoulder again, and she leaned against me. At least I could provide some emotional support, I thought to myself.

  Finally the elevator slowed and the door opened. The sign on the wall facing us read, “Level 49.” We were one level below the farm and gardens on top of the roof.

  Connie walked out without looking at us and took a right. We followed her down the hall, then she took another turn, and another. Soon we were in a maze of corridors.

  Finally, she stopped in the middle of a long, featureless hallway. She reached up, standing on tiptoes, and pressed her fingertips against the bottom of a light fixture mounted on the wall. It moved upward a notch, with an audible click!

  A crack appeared in the wall, perpendicular to the floor. It grew wider, to about the size of a regular doorway.

  Connie didn’t look at us. She turned on her heel, and walked back in the direction of the elevators.

  Dee Dee and I exchanged glances.

  I said, “Well, this must be it. After you.”

  We walked into a spacious apartment featuring a nice suite of rooms. The foyer led to a tastefully furnished living room, with plush carpet and a beautiful stained beadboard ceiling. While the level of luxury seemed far below our penthouse back in Price Faculty Hall on the New Texas A&M campus, the apartment was several grades above my old Servant Quarters bunk, both literally and figuratively.

  Physician Patel walked out of one of the doorways leading off the living room. I noted he seemed a little older, too, some gray hairs mixing in with the brown. His dominant ancestry was Indian, and he was born and raised on Bharata before moving to New Texas and then Redwood.

  “I thought I heard somebody come in. Welcome to the Corrie ten Boom Suite!”

  I smiled, recognizing the historical reference. Dee Dee’s brows furrowed.

  “The what suite?”

  “Corrie ten Boom’s family hid Jews in their home during World War Two,” I said. “She wrote a book about it called ‘The Hiding Place.’”

  “That’s right,” Physician Patel said, beaming. “When we found out we were going to have uninvited guests, Curtis decided we needed to make some preparations. This is one of the surprises he mapped out.”

  I said, “I’m not sure I like the name, Physician Patel. If memory serves, the ten Booms were caught by the Nazis and sent to a concentration camp.”

  “Ah, but the Jews they hid were not found by the Gestapo. The hiding place was never discovered.”

  I couldn’t argue with that point.

  We followed the Physician around the suite as he pointed out things we needed to know about it.

  “We destroyed the plans for the city, completely obliterating them from the servers. It’s possible the GPs brought along their own set of plans but searching the entire fifty square kilometers, even with blueprints, should take them mor
e time than they have, we hope.

  “We went to considerable trouble hiding the door, and we think you’ll be fairly safe from basic scans and searches. In addition, we put in a backdoor leading up to the roof level, in case you need to make an emergency exit.

  “There are no computer connections. We did not want them to find your node if they gain control of the city’s servers. However, we do have simple audio-video hookups. You’ll be able to monitor all the cams and mics in real time. We’re hoping the likelihood of discovery on passive circuits is far lower. We didn’t want to leave you completely out of the loop, and felt the chances of discovery were minimal, and worth the risk.

  “Now come along, I’ll give you a tour.”

  He walked us around, showing off three bedrooms, a fully-stocked kitchen with at least two months of food supplies, and a small medical bay featuring a portable blood bank contained in a metal suitcase.

  “We thought of both kinds of food you’ll need.”

  In the bathroom, the air vent in the ceiling above the counter could be removed, leading to a small passageway up to the roof. Physician Patel explained a trapdoor opened in the middle of a corn field, providing ideal cover from observation.

  “There should be enough here for you to survive several weeks, if need be. If you run out of food and blood, you can try sneaking up to the roof for both. I understand there are cats on the farm up there.”

  I nodded.

  “I’ve survived on cat’s blood before, back in my days as a Servant. Nasty tasting, but it’ll do in a pinch.”

  By this time we had come full circle, and we found ourselves back in the living room.

  “Very well. I must be going now. We’ll check on you periodically. Don’t try to communicate with us, especially if they gain control of the city.”

  With that, he shook my hand, gravely, and gave Dee Dee a quick hug. Then he left through the secret door to the hallway.

  We looked at each other as the door slid closed.

  “Well, looks like we’ll be warming the bench for a while.”