The Genesis Sequence Books 6-10

by Mackenzie Morris

  He picked up the white plastic baby monitor speaker to make sure it was working. The boys were being abnormally quiet, but he had managed to put them all down for a nap before coming here. If anything went wrong, he would be able to hear them. Normally, Ben would not have left them alone for even five minutes without someone watching them, but he needed to speak with all the members of the rebellion.

  Ben started to make eye contact with each of them, but his throat tightened and he was forced to stare down at his tablet on the wooden podium as he spoke. "Before we land on Odyssia's moon to meet with the mystery contact, we need to discuss the details of the plan moving forward. As you can see, I have all of your names on Sandra's monitoring screen. She will be injecting each of you with a tracker that will tell us here at command where you are and allow me to keep track of your vital signs at all times. If something goes wrong, I will be the first to know."

  "You're doing fine, dearest." Vance placed his hand on Ben's shoulder. "Tell them about the assigned squads."

  "Right." He took a deep breath before continuing. "For the primary force, you will be divided into four squads. Squad One will consist of Rav, Vance, and Nemo in the Galaxy Glider. There will be dogfights and bombing runs that inevitably pop up that we will need you to take care of. Rav, are you willing to take Vance as your gunner? Can you two work together? I know things are rough between you two, but you do have the most experience working together as partners."

  Rav leaned back in his chair and placed his red sneakers up on the table. "I'll do it, as long as Nemo comes with me."

  "That's why his name is already added to your squad. I'm not breaking you two up."

  "Does that mean I get to see him before then?" He pushed his bright red bangs out of his eyes. "Do I get to see my son and apologize?"

  "After this meeting, we will arrange that. No one has forgotten about you and your son. You will be supervised, of course, but you will be in the same room. Moving on. Squad Two will be deployed to Star-World Zero Alpha to take out the primary resistance leaders of the warbringers. Squad Three will be the Elysian Strike Force that will eliminate Congress and President Jonathan Brightman."

  "Who's on those squads?" Dallis asked, his four golden eyes narrowing.

  "I'm not sure yet because there is another issue that needs to be dealt with first. Squad Four." Ben had to look over at Sandra and Leah for support before continuing with his eyes closed tightly. "I hate to ask this of anyone, but Vance and I have pored over all the maps and information we have about Odyssia and we have come to this sobering conclusion. Squad Four will be completely voluntary."

  The room fell silent.

  Ben nervously rubbed his neck below the white turban and cleared his throat before continuing. "Squad Four will be the team to go deep down below Odyssia and overload the nuclear reactors. You will go down the maintenance elevators and into Reactor One. Once you cut off the flow of coolant to the containment valves and the pressure inside the reactor begins to grow, the alarms will go off and the emergency protocols will be in place. At that point, the elevators will shut down and the water level for the backup cooling systems will begin to rise. You will move up to the next three reactors through the ventilation shafts and continue causing each reactor to malfunction. After you get done with Reactor Four, the floors below you will be flooded with water and the one you will be in will quickly flood as well. The ventilation shafts will be filled with extremely hot steam and you will be unable to move upwards any longer. The members of Squad Four will die in the containment room of Reactor Four with no way out."

  No one in the room moved. No one made a sound. A few of them stared down at the floor or wrung their hands together on the conference table. Others held their heads in their hands or remained looking straight ahead and expressionless.

  Ben glanced over at his husband for help. Once Vance slowly nodded his head, Ben continued. "I know none of us wanted to place our friends and allies in a situation like this. If I could change this, I would, but we agreed on this plan, no matter what. If no one volunteers for this mission, we will scrap our plan and we will try to come up with something else. However, we have gone over everything and we haven't found another way yet. I'm sorry that it has come to this. So, before we move on to assigning members to the other squads, do we have any volunteers for Squad Four?"

  The scratching of the chair against the floor drew everyone's attention to the eight-feet-tall Biromian who stood up and removed his red cowboy hat. "I will go. I have nothing left to live for without my children."

  "Dallis, what about Baban?" Rav asked. "Baban may still be alive."

  "Let him forget about me. Let him forget about his father who was never home, about his father who failed to protect his siblings. If my youngest, dearest Baban is still alive, I entrust Neon to find him and raise him as his own. I'm not getting any younger, and I have so many crimes on my shoulders that need to be atoned for. Enough arguing with me. I have already volunteered for this. My decision is final."

  Before Dallis could sit back down, the cyborg with the olive skin and the black computer parts embedded in his body stood up and bowed to them. The lights on his face plates blinked from blue to red and back again. He signed something in Biromian sign language then held up his hand as he joined Dallis's side.

  Ben nodded to him. "Thank you, Derek. Your creation abilities will be useful."

  When Lucas stood in his exosuit, everyone turned to him with shock on their faces.

  Sandra shook her head and crossed her arms over her red suspenders. "No. Sit back down, Lucas. You're not going."

  Dallis turned to him with fear spreading over his face. "Pet, no. You can't do this. I won't let you. You're too young to throw it all away. You have so much to live for. You're just a kid."

  "I'm almost twenty."

  Krisharn stood, his massive pectoral muscles flexing under his leather harness. "I'll take his place."

  "That won't work." Ben scrolled through the list of names on his tablet. "We need you to rule Azimandia. It has to be a warbringer who everyone trusts and who has royal blood. No one else will work."

  Krisharn pointed at Visht with his horns. "Visht. My son. He can take the throne."

  "He's too young for that and you know it. The warbringers will never accept a fifteen-year-old warlord."

  "What if we help Slayven reattach his horns?" Kalimis asked, rubbing his orange horns as he thought out loud. "He has a distant claim to the throne."

  "And what happens when everyone realizes that a rejected slave is trying to take the throne? Chaos. It won't work. I'm sorry, Krisharn, but we need you alive."

  Dallis grabbed onto the shoulders of Lucas's exosuit and shook him. "I'm not allowing this."

  Lucas looked over at Ben and tossed his long faded blue hair out of his face. "You said it was volunteer, so I volunteered."

  Vance shrugged his shoulders. "He has a point. Let him go."

  Sandra gasped. "Vance!"

  "Hear me out. From what I know about Lucas, he was controlled and enslaved for his entire childhood. He wasn't given choices or anything to live for. Now that he's free, Lucas has every right to make his own decisions. If he wants to do this and he's not feeling pressured to do it, then who are we to tell him he can't?"

  Dallis placed his arm around Lucas's waist. "He's a kid."

  "He's a man who has fought for his country, who would have been a father, and who is more secure with himself than ninety percent of the humans in this universe. He's not a child anymore. Hell, I'm more childish than he ever thought about being. Let Lucas make his own decisions. Besides, we need someone strong to go down there to work the release valves for the cooling tanks. With his enhanced strength from the exosuit, he is a prime candidate. We need to use our strengths when we can."

  Sandra bowed her head. "It's up to you, Ben."

  What was he supposed to say? It was clear that Lucas was dead-set on volunteering. "Lucas, I want you to know that you're not being pressured into
this. Dallis and Derek should be able to get the job done."

  "But you don't know that. We need to make sure this goes down correctly. If something happens and the reactors aren't overloaded, then the entire plan fails. With me down there, I'm certain we will be able to get this done. It's for the best of humanity. I'm not being pressured, and I realize what the consequences of this are going to be. But I'm ready. I need to do this. I was born to be a slave. Don't let me die that way. Let me die a hero."

  "Squad Four will be comprised of Dallis, Derek . . . and Lucas." Ben slid the names around on the screen behind him. "Now we can fill in the other squads. Squad Two will be Kalimis, Jezzien, and Slayven. You three know each other well enough that I'm not worried about you working together. Kalimis, be nice to Slayven."

  "You don't have to worry about that."

  "Good. Squad Three will be Krisharn and Visht. I want this to be personal, I want it to be gruesome. You two will be going to Elysia where you will execute Jonathan Brightman and every member of Congress on live television."

  Krisharn grinned and chuckled deeply as he cracked his knuckles. "That's my kind of mission."

  The fifteen-year-old warbringer with the circular red horns stood and slammed his fists on the table. "I'm not working with him!"

  Ben tried to break up the fight before it escalated. "Visht, please."

  "No! Do you know what he's done to me?"

  "You're his son."

  Visht shouted at his father. "Then tell him to treat me like it."

  "Show me some respect, boy. I am your father. You should be on your knees in front of me, kissing my boots for the chance to speak in my presence. How dare you stand there and address me so informally?"

  Visht held out his hands and turned to everyone else. "See what I mean?"

  "I'll settle this." Vance stood up and pointed at Krisharn. "Until I die or I place you on the throne of Azimandia, I am still your warlord. If anyone should be bowed to, it should be me. Listen up, Azimandians. I'm changing things right here, right now. I don't care what you've done in your culture up until now, but I'm making a change. We are not in Azimandia. We are all members of the Red Sand Rebels. We are equals. We are allies. Krisharn, Visht is your son. He carries your blood and the royal blood of Azimandia. If you continue to abuse him like you're doing, I will ensure that you don't get anywhere near the throne. I will have Ben take over as warlord if I die. Is that what you want?"

  Krisharn snarled as he stormed over then knelt on one knee in front of Vance. "No, My Warlord."

  Jezzien let out an amused giggle. "That's right, dear father. How does it feel to be put in your place?"

  He snapped at his daughter. "You don't get a say in this. You're a woman."

  Vance snapped his fingers to get Krisharn's attention again. Once the warbringer had looked up at him, he shook his head. "You don't get to talk to her like this either. She's one of us, female or not. It doesn't matter. I won't have you or anyone else bringing that sexist crap here. If she's fighting and putting her life on the line just like the rest of us, then she deserves respect. Period."

  Krisharn snarled at him. "Yes, My Warlord."

  The door opened as a tiny boy with messy blond hair peeked his head around the corner. His pale green eyes were wide as he looked around.

  Ben held out his arms to his son. "Hey, Isaac! Come to Daddy."

  The boy shook his head and ran directly to Slayven.

  Slayven picked the boy up and smiled as he motioned to Ben. "Go to your daddy. You haven't seen him since he's been back."

  The boy placed his hands on Slayven's cheeks. "You're my daddy."

  Slayven looked up and frowned as the boy latched onto his arm. "Sorry, Ben. He's been stuck to me since you left with Vance in that escape pod."

  "I see. Was he with you last night when I was with the other boys? Isaac wasn't in there with us."

  "He was with me. He didn't want to be around the others. They've been bullying him."

  Ben gritted his teeth as anger flushed in his cheeks. "I will speak to you later in private about this, Slayven."

  "Are you angry at me for taking care of your children? It's not my fault that Isaac has bonded with me."

  "Shut up and get your alien hands off of my son. I said we will discuss it later. Now is not the time. Can we get back on topic? Krisharn, what will it take to get you to accept your son? I need you, we all need you to work together. I'm a nurse; I'm not a psychologist. I can't deal with the bickering and family issues, okay? I know your culture is vastly different from most human cultures, but please don't let that get in the way of us winning this war."

  "I will follow the orders of my warlord. However, Visht will obey me while we are working together."

  "Very well. In addition to these four squads, Neon will pilot the first ship we are able to commandeer from the Flight Force. He has years of experience, so I trust him to provide Rav with backup in the skies. Sandra, Leah, Tamir, and myself will be here at command to monitor and give orders through the headsets that each of you will wear. Remy will be on standby here on the ship to attend to the wounded who are brought in. Camille will be meeting up with Squad Three on Elysia. Now, I need Squad Three to take Krisharn's ship and head out to Elysia as soon as we are finished here. With the high-powered Azimandian warp capabilities on that ship, you should be able to make it to Elysia within two days from this location. Squad Two, we will be leaving you here at this outpost where an allied Flight Force pilot will pick you up in two hours and take you to Star-World Zero Alpha. You should reach your destination in a day and a half. As for Squad Four, we will be dropping you off on Odyssia when we go to the moon to meet with the mystery contact. We will be there in twelve hours. You will have two days to infiltrate the underground city and make your way down into the lowest levels. Vance has already sent a message to both Elysia and Star-World Zero Alpha stating that he wishes to speak with them in a meeting on Odyssia on Saturday afternoon. That is when we make our move."

  "Is that all?" Rav asked, finishing off his can of lime soda and tossing the can across the room to land in the trashcan.

  "Yes, but I have something else to say. Today is Wednesday. By Saturday, we should all be in our positions and this war will reach new heights. I wish you all well. For some of us, this will be the final time we are all together. I want to thank you all for your cooperation and for your friendship through this trying time. Your sacrifices will not be in vain. I swear that to you. You will all be known as heroes. And Squad Four? Your names will live on in legends. We will remember you."

  * * *

  Slayven pulled his leather vest on over his thermal shirt as he stepped into the kitchen where Ben was busy spreading mayonnaise on a stack of slices of wheat bread. He watched his leader for a few moments before clearing his throat. "Ben, can we talk?"

  He looked up from his mountain of bologna sandwiches with tears streaming down his cheeks. "I'm sorry. I'm just so overwhelmed right now."

  "Hey, now, it's okay." He was not expecting to see that level of emotion out of him. Slayven stepped up to the counter and took the knife away from Ben before continuing making the fifteen sandwiches. "Why is Vance not in here helping you with this? You should be in there with your kids. They're his too. He needs to step up and be a father."

  "Vance doesn't want to get attached to them because . . . he . . . Vance dies on Sunday. The Hive Queen made a deal with him. He knows when he's going to die."

  "I could tell something like that was going on. I'm so sorry, Ben. I can't even imagine."

  "I didn't mean to yell at you or insult you back there. I'm falling apart. This is why Vance and Sandra won't let me fight in the battles to come. They say I'm too unstable. Plus, Vance is doing all he can to make sure I'm still alive after this so I can take care of my boys. I don't know what I'm going to do after he's gone. I'll be a single dad raising fifteen boys. I don't know what I'm doing."

  "Is it a financial issue?" Slayven asked.

  "No. M
y uncle has already given me quite a substantial nest egg so I can buy a home and provide for my children before I get another job." Ben leaned over the counter and braced himself with his arms. "That is . . . if we even win this war. It seems like it's been so long since I've had a real job. I can't see myself going back into nursing, but I'm not going to sit around all day and not be productive. I don't know how to do this on my own. I'm so scared."

  "You have friends here. After this war is over, no one is going to abandon you and expect you to be right back on your feet. Besides, those boys will need you to be at home with them. They've all been through a lot. Anyway, the details don't matter right now. What matters is you loving those boys and you leading the Red Sand Rebels to victory. That's what's important."

  "I just want my boys to be happy."

  Slayven piled the slices of bologna onto the bread and unwrapped the cheese slices. "That's what all good parents want."

  "Isaac won't talk to me. Has he said anything to you?"

  "He feels like you abandoned him. I didn't mean to take him away from you or cause him to bond with me like he did. I only wanted to get him away from his brothers because they were being mean to him and Isaac is such a quiet boy. I was trying to help."

  "I know." Ben gave him a small yet forced smile. "Listen, Slayven, if it's to make Isaac happy, would you want to . . . adopt him?"

  "Ben, I would love to adopt Isaac. But only if you're sure about this."

  "I'll think about it. I want him to be happy. If he's not happy with me as his father, then he needs to be with a man who will be a good father. Let's get through this war first. Then we will talk more. For now, go ahead and keep Isaac with you while you're still on this ship. That's where he feels safe."