Renegade Earth

by J. N. Chaney

  “You can feel the difference, can’t you?” I asked.

  He hesitated. “It’s difficult to tell, now that I think about it.”

  “Don’t you remember what it was like before this?”

  “Yes, but not in the same way you might imagine,” he said. “I felt nothing before, so I can’t tell you how it felt to be me. All I can say is that I existed, although I was never alive.”

  “Was it like being asleep?” I asked.

  “I’ve never slept, so I couldn’t say,” he answered honestly. “If anything, it feels like a distant memory, buried in the far reaches of my mind, like looking at someone else from far away.”

  “Are you saying you aren’t Siggy anymore?” I asked.

  “Are you the same Jace Hughes that you were when you were thirteen years old?”

  I scratched my chin. “I guess not.”

  “And yet, that boy is still a part of you—the foundation for the rest of your life. His ambitions, talents, experiences, and relationships. These are the things that build us, forming what comes next.” Sigmond touched his temple, giving me a smile. “The same is true of me.”

  * * *

  Abigail’s steady breathing tickled my ear as we lay together in my bed. I had managed a good three hours of rest before waking up, but after spending so much time in the medical bay, it seemed my body had gotten its fill.

  The light from the bathroom shined in on us, letting me see the woman beside me. She was on her chest and gently snoring. It made me smile.

  I slid my arm out from under her and made my way to the lounge, pouring a cup of coffee before taking a seat on the sofa. I crossed my legs and took in the scent of the freshly made brew. A quick glance at the nearby holo showed it was the very early morning, hours before I usually got up. Despite that, I was pretty sure I wasn’t the only one awake right now. Karin had ordered her newly formed repair crew into groups of ten, with each team assigned to a different shift, allowing them to continue their work at all hours of the day. At that pace, internal systems would be fully operational within the next few days.

  It wasn’t fast enough, but I knew we couldn’t ask for more. Everyone was working at their limit.

  “Mr. Hughes?” muttered a voice from my left side.

  I looked over to see Lex standing in the hallway, a foot still inside the bedroom. Abigail had brought her here last night, and I didn’t bother asking why.

  I smiled at the girl. “Hey, kid. What’s up?”

  She held her blanket close to her chest, her eyes half-closed, and waddled closer to me. With a long yawn, she came to the side of the couch and hopped onto the cushion beside me, curling into a small ball. “I smelled the coffee,” she said, laying her head on the armrest. “It woke me up.”

  “Sorry about that,” I said, taking a sip.

  “It’s okay,” she said, nestling her hands between the cushions and stretching her feet so they were on my lap. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”

  “I slept enough, I guess. I’m wide awake now.”

  “Me too,” she whispered, her eyes closed as she licked her lips. “Wide awake.”

  In seconds, she was fast asleep again, breathing steadily. I took another sip of coffee and leaned back, resigning myself to this position, at least for the foreseeable future.

  I set my cup on the nearby table and propped my feet on the chair in front of me, letting out a long sigh. Lex fidgeted, kicking my stomach with the heel of her foot, and muttered something I couldn’t understand. I wondered if she was dreaming. I hoped it was something good.

  She deserved a nice distraction from the real world, especially with everything that was about to happen.

  * * *

  After some time, I eased my way out from under Lex’s feet and decided to take a stroll. A few colonists were in the landing bay, messing around in their ships. Two women with repair tools jogged quickly to the elevator, probably taking over from the prior shift.

  Even in the early hours, Titan was full of activity.

  Seeing them reminded me of Taurus Station, back when I was only a Renegade trying to make a living. My old pal Ollie—rest his soul—would cash me out and give me my next assignment, and then I’d find myself with a bottle in the bar, killing time with whatever girl happened to be there.

  Shit, it felt like a lifetime ago, and now I was here in this strange place, walking through battle worn halls, wondering how I even came to be here.

  At what point had I chosen this direction for my life? When had I made the decision to be here? Was it when I shot Fratley in the head? Was it when I told the Union to fuck off?

  A quick flash of Abigail, dressed as a nun, passed through my mind. Oh, right, I thought, recalling the disapproving look on her face when we’d first met. A simple escort job gone wrong.

  If Ollie hadn’t pressed me to take it, I would’ve walked away right there and none of this would’ve happened. Funny how things work out like that sometimes. You never know what’s good for you until it happens.

  I stopped in front of the cafeteria to find Alphonse sitting at one of the tables, a pad in one hand and a cup of tea in the other. “Well, look who’s up,” I said, raising my voice to get his attention.

  He glanced over his shoulder. “Captain,” he greeted, before turning back to his work.

  “Did you just wake up?” I asked, walking closer to the table and taking a seat across from him.

  “I haven’t gone to bed yet, actually,” he said, tapping the screen.

  “What are you doing there?” I asked.

  “This?” he asked, lifting the device. He handed it to me. “I’ve been working on the plan we discussed.”

  “That was ten hours ago,” I said, taking the pad and examining it.

  “It seemed like something I should prioritize.”

  The first thing I found was a map, including our current position and flight path. Earth was in the usual place, but the screen showed us heading in a new direction, to an unknown system. I tapped the system and it zoomed in, showing five planets surrounding the star, with our path ending near the second world.

  I looked up at Alphonse. “You want us to change course?”

  He nodded. “A slight alteration, but not so much that it draws attention.”

  “You’re worried Brigham will suspect something if we change our flightpath too much.”

  “Precisely,” he said. “This planet would only require us to shift our trajectory by a fraction of a percentage. He’ll notice, but not enough that it warrants concern.”

  “Won’t he notice when he runs a long-distance scan?” I asked.

  “According to the information Sigmond acquired from Hephaestus, there’s a settlement here,” said Alphonse, pointing to the pad. “Quite large, too.”

  “A settlement?” I asked.

  “Abandoned, of course, but still standing and big enough to fool the Union into believing this is Earth. We can arrive ahead of them and spring a trap.”

  I nudged the pad toward him. “This is good. If everything falls apart, at least they won’t have Earth.” I leaned forward. “What’s our battle plan once we get there?”

  “I’m still working on that,” he admitted. “The difficult part will be devising a strategy that does not require heavy sacrifices on our end. I’ve been wracking my brain trying to come up with something that won’t result in excessive casualties, but—”

  I shook my head. “Relax, Al. You’ll get there. We just need to think this through, and we still have a few days.”

  He nodded, although I could sense the uncertainty building within him.

  I got to my feet and started to leave, but paused beside him. “Hold on,” I said before glancing up at the ceiling. “Siggy, you there? Can you hear me?”

  “Yes, sir,” said the former A.I. as he materialized right before my eyes. The golden-eyed Cognitive smiled warmly at the two of us. “How can I help you?”

  “I was just thinking,” I said, hooking my thumb throug
h my belt. “You spent some time inside Earth’s defense grid.”

  “I did, indeed, sir.”

  “You think you can use that insight to help Alphonse come up with a plan of attack?” I asked.

  “Of course. That is, if the good Constable would have me,” said Sigmond.

  “By all means,” said Alphonse.

  “Excellent,” said Sigmond.

  “Great,” I said, patting Alphonse on the shoulder. “I’ll leave you two to it.”

  “We’ll have something for you by this afternoon,” said Alphonse.

  I smirked. “That’s the spirit.”

  I started to head toward the cafeteria exit when Alphonse said, “Oh, one last thing, Captain.”

  “What is it?” I asked, stopping with my hand on the archway.

  “I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t tell MaryAnn about my lack of sleep.”

  I cocked my head. “Who?”

  “Dr. MaryAnn Dressler,” he said, giving me a look that suggested I should know.

  It took me a second to make the connection. I’d spent so much time calling Dressler by her last name and title that I’d completely forgotten her first. “Oh, right.”

  Alphonse and Sigmond exchanged a quick glance. “Did you forget her name?” asked the former Constable.

  “I can’t remember everything, Al,” I said. “Why don’t you want me to tell her what you’re up to?”

  “I’d rather not worry her.”

  “Worry her? That doesn’t sound like Dressler,” I said, tapping my chin.

  “We’ve been meeting for tea every evening to discuss the following day’s agenda. She’s made it a point to tell me how tired I looked, so—”

  “Siggy, are you hearing this? Al’s gone and got himself a lady. Fancy that.”

  “A lady?” asked Sigmond. “Has he taken possession of the doctor?”

  Alphonse shook his head. “It’s not like that, I can assure you both. We’re colleagues. Nothing more. I simply don’t want to worry her.”

  I snickered. “If you say so, but that’s not what it sounds like to me.”

  “Please, Captain,” pleaded Alphonse.

  “Fine, fine,” I assured him. “I won’t say anything to your girlfriend. Just get me those plans.” I paused, thinking about all of this. “And in the meantime, we should probably tell Athena what we’re—”

  The albino Cognitive appeared beside Sigmond. “Yes, Captain?”

  “—doing,” I finished, blinking at her. “I guess that saves me the hassle.”

  “I overheard the request for a course correction,” said Athena. “Shall I go ahead and make the change?”

  I looked at Alphonse. “You’re sure about this plan, right?”

  “It’s only the beginning of a plan,” he corrected. “The rest is still in development. However, I’m confident whatever Sigmond and I come up with won’t change our heading.”

  “You heard the man, Athena. Time to set a course.”

  Four

  “I can’t believe you had an impromptu meeting in the cafeteria without me,” said Abigail, stretching out her arms and legs in the bed.

  “If you didn’t sleep so much, you wouldn’t miss these things,” I said, handing her a cup of coffee.

  She took a sip as she sat up, twisting around to the edge of the bed, somehow managing to still give me a look of disapproval in the process. “It won’t be long before we’re at that planet you mentioned. Do we even have enough time to make all those repairs to Titan?”

  “Athena seems to think so,” I said.

  She took another drink, pausing briefly. “I hope she’s right.”

  “You’re worried,” I said.

  “A little,” she admitted. “Even under perfect conditions, we’d have our work cut out for us, given the size of the fleet they’re sending after—”

  “Abby!” called Lex as she came racing into the room. The little girl ran up to us, a wide grin on her face as she let out a burst of laughter.

  “I see you’re finally awake,” I said.

  “I heard Abby talking,” she explained.

  Abigail smiled at her, setting her coffee down on the nearby side table. “No more lounging for me, it seems.”

  “Is it time to go to school?” asked Lex.

  “Maybe in a few hours,” said Abby, glancing up at me. “Why don’t the three of us spend some time together for a change?”

  I shrugged.

  Abigail smiled. “Looks like Jace is in. What do you say, Lex? Got anything special you want to do?”

  “Yes!” cheered the girl. “Let’s get ice cream!”

  “For breakfast?” asked Abby, laughing. “That’s what you want?”

  “Can we?” asked Lex.

  Abby looked at me and I gave her another shrug. “Let’s do it!”

  Lex cheered as we got to our feet. “Today’s going to be the best!”

  * * *

  After spending a few hours with the girls, I received a call from Dressler, informing me that the repair team had found something. “It looks like we have a drone lodged inside the hull,” she explained over the comm. “It appears to still be operational, but only partially.”

  “I thought the drones shut down after we took out Hephaestus,” I said.

  “Apparently not,” she answered.

  “I’m on my way,” I said.

  “Understood,” said the doctor.

  Abigail heard the entire conversation, thanks to the comm in her ear, and gave me a quick nod before I could say anything. “Go handle it,” she told me. “I’ll make sure Lex gets to school.”

  “I’ll let you know what we find,” I assured her.

  I hopped into the nearby elevator and rode it to the sixteenth deck—the most heavily damaged part of the ship.

  As soon as the doors slid open, I was met by Karin. “What do we have?” I asked, stepping into the hall.

  “Nothing good,” she said, motioning for me to follow. “It looks like the drone is still armed. We’ve already informed Athena.”

  Walking through the hall, I spotted several fractures where the strain of the impact had caused damage. Sections of the ceiling had also fallen in, already sealed by the team. I had to hand it to the repair crew. They had managed to get through two entire decks in less than a day. If they kept this pace up, we stood a fair chance at finishing everything before the deadline.

  Karin and I rounded the corner and entered the nearby landing bay. I stopped when I saw the damaged wall with at least a dozen crew members working beneath it. “Holy shit,” I muttered.

  Every landing bay contained four openings along the far wall, each separated by about six meters of surface metal, making for a simple, but symmetric design.

  All of that was gone. Instead of four separate openings, there was now a single, wide hole that extended across most of the landing bay, directly into open space.

  Or, in this case, slipspace.

  Green lightning flashed before me, all along the slip tunnel wall, illuminating the entire landing bay and the bustling repair crew.

  “The shield is keeping everything in place,” said Karin, who must have noticed the look on my face.

  “How stable is it?” I finally asked, keeping my eyes forward. “Is it safe for all these people to be here?”

  “I have activated sixteen separate layers of shielding,” informed a disembodied voice.

  “Athena?” I said, looking around and expecting to find her standing beside me. When I didn’t see her, I asked, “Where are you?”

  “I’m afraid the hard light emitters are currently disabled inside the landing bay,” she informed.

  “It’s on our list of things to fix,” said Karin. “After we take care of the drone, that is.”

  I nodded. “You said it was armed?”

  “That’s right,” said Karin, continuing forward. “Let me show you.”

  I followed her a short distance to the crowd of engineers in front of the drone. “Excuse us,�
� said Karin, pushing through the crew members. They stepped aside, giving us some room.

  As we drew closer, I spotted a pair of legs beneath the drone’s nose. “Someone there?” asked the engineer, whose voice I quickly recognized.

  “It’s just us, Doc,” I said.

  Dressler nudged herself out from beneath the device, glancing up at me with one eye. “Before you ask, I don’t have any good news yet.” She leaned back under the drone. “In fact, there doesn’t even seem to be an access panel. Not that I can find, anyway.”

  “We were thinking about removing the hull so we can get inside,” said Karin.

  “Sounds risky,” I said.

  “It’s more than risky,” said Dressler, her voice muffled from beneath the drone. “We could inadvertently trigger its weapon system and blow half the bay apart.”

  “And there’s nothing Athena can do about this?” I asked.

  “Unfortunately, I am unable to access the drone’s interface,” answered Athena.

  “Is it locked down or something?” I asked.

  “It’s still in combat mode, which means several layers of protection,” explained Dressler. “The security system is air-tight. Athena won’t be able to break in without the proper—” She paused, dropping her hands, and then shuffled her way out from under the nose. “Where’s Sigmond?”

  “Siggy? He’s working on something with Alphonse,” I explained.

  “He spent time inside the defense network. He might be able to break through the encryption,” said Dressler.

  “That’s right,” said Karin. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “You think Siggy can shut this thing down?” I asked.

  “Possibly,” said Dressler.

  “That’s better than nothing,” I said, looking up at the ceiling. “Hey, Siggy! You there?”

  We all paused in silence, waiting for a response.

  “Affirmative, sir,” he answered a short moment later. “Athena has briefed me on the situation and I’m ready to assist.”

  “Briefed you? Already?”

  “I also had some time to locate the required access key.”

  “Not bad, Siggy,” I said.

  “Thank you, sir. Please, I suggest everyone leave the area, should anything go wrong. The drone is outfitted with a self-destruct, which could activate if it detects an unauthorized intrusion.”