by Aaron Hubble
They exited the apartment, hurried down the hallway, and then turned the corner that led toward the outside door. Andy let go of her hand, bent and kissed the top of her head and gently pushed her forward. She felt like she was floating as she moved toward the door and reminded herself this was still a very dicey situation. She knocked on the glass and the guard turned, saw her, and unlocked the door. She walked out into the dark night, the streets lit by softly glowing blue lamps.
The guard nodded. “Ma’am. You know you’re supposed to be escorted when leaving the building. If you don’t have an escort, then I need you to return to your apartment.”
“I know. Sovan is coming. He was going to escort me to Dr. Mirala’s. She really wants to do some more practice with my language,” Evie said.
“I see. So, Sovan is coming?”
“Yes. Oh here he is now,” Evie pointed to the door behind the guard.
The guard turned as Andy stepped out of the door and landed a wicked punch to the guard’s throat. He dropped to his knees gasping and choking. A knee to the side of the head rendered the guard unconscious, and he fell to the concrete in a limp pile. Evie gasped and covered her face. The swift violence surprised her making her stomach churn.
Andy moved quickly, grabbing the man’s ankles and dragging him toward the door. “Get the door,” he said.
She shook off the shock and opened the door while Andy pulled the big man inside and around the corner so he couldn’t be seen from the street. Andy grabbed the restraints from the guard’s belt and bound his hands. Then they exited the building together.
“I’m sorry you had to be a part of that,” Andy said. “There was no other way. I’m sure he was aware of the order to terminate me.”
Evie nodded and then reached out for his hand again, searching for that familiar embrace. He took it and they jogged away from the small storage building that had been their home for the last two months. The streets were deserted. This side of the city was mostly industrial and manufacturing buildings. They were all shuttered at this time of night significantly reducing the likelihood of being seen. Nevertheless, they continued to hug the sides of those buildings, staying out of the glow of the lamps as much as possible.
How many times had they done exactly this on Earth? A job that didn’t go just right, the CPF on their trail as they fled through the darkness, hiding in the shadows, dodging the light of the moon. They had been such a good team.
No, not just good, great.
She yearned for those times again and didn’t care if she had to run for the rest of her life on an unfamiliar planet. They could do it. Lucas and Evie, together again, just as it was always meant to be. Her spirit soared as she led him closer to the door that would take them out of Alam and into a new life together.
Pulling him behind a bush, Evie pointed to the door. “There it is, but like I said, it’s biometrically sealed. Only Ma’Ha’Nae can open or close it with their hand prints. Do you have that part worked out?”
“I do,” Andy said patting the bundle. “It’s all taken care of. Are you ready?”
“Always,” she said.
“Let’s get out of here.”
They sprinted across the remaining distance. Those few feet of concrete were all that separated them from freedom and love. Stopping in front of the door, Evie looked at Andy expectantly and then pointed to the biometric reader.
“I’m curious how you plan on getting this open.”
His face turned serious and he began to unwrap the bundle. “I wish you didn’t have to see this. In fact, I wish I didn’t need to make you a part of this, but you were there and convenient.”
Confusion wrapped itself around Evie’s mind.
The sheet fell away revealing a bloody hand. Evie recoiled at the gruesome sight. Her mind tried to convince her it wasn’t real, but the blood and glistening white bone told Evie otherwise. Her mouth opened to scream, but was cut off by a quick jab to her throat. Pain radiated from her contused windpipe as she struggled to pull precious air into her lungs. She fell to the ground and rolled onto her back, gasping. Andy loomed over her, his face grim.
“I’m sorry you had to be a part of this, and I’m sorry I had to deceive you.”
Through her pain she caught a glimpse of regret on his face. He still had a hard time hiding his true feelings from her no matter what he believed his true identity to be. His expression of regret was brief, replaced by the cold determination of a soldier.
“In another time and place, I think I could have grown to like you, even love you, but you must know my loyalty belongs to the Continental Peace Federation. I am so sorry, Evie.”
The pain in her throat was no comparison to the pain in her heart. Evie prayed he would kill her, because she didn’t think she could ever get over the pain of his betrayal. His fist slammed into her face with lightning speed. Light exploded in front of her eyes and then only black.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Aereas - Alam, Ma’Ha’Nae city under Lake Keali
The inside of Evie’s head felt like someone was bashing her brain between cymbals. The pain was so intense she was having trouble walking in a straight line, her vision doubling and then tripling before the images coalesced into one for a moment before doing the split-personality dance once again. Her jaw ached and blood was crusted under her nose. Breathing was difficult and swallowing was torture to her bruised throat. She’d tried to call out for help when she’d first woken lying on the concrete next to the door leading out of Alam, but her contused throat only allowed a small squeak.
The hospital was in sight now; hopefully Mirala was on duty. She’d understand.
Wouldn’t she?
She’d let her emotions cloud her better judgment and she’d let an untrustworthy man make her promises he’d never intended to keep. Even though he looked like Lucas, it was clear he wasn’t anything like the man she’d married. Tears streamed down her face. Part of her hoped he’d die in the forest. She hoped one of those terrible giant bats would swoop out of the trees and carry him away to their nest to tear him limb from limb.
And the other part?
That part just couldn’t quite let go of the man she loved. She’d never had the chance to grieve over losing him, because he was standing right in front of her. He’d called himself Andy, but he sounded like Lucas, moved like Lucas, smelled and smiled like Lucas.
How would she ever move past this?
In reality, her husband was dead. His body had been hijacked by the Continental Peace Federation and replaced by a killer with no moral anchors. Lucas Kreg had been murdered by the CPF.
Evie cried bitter tears for the husband who’d died and for the shame she felt. Shame at being duped into believing Lucas was still alive. She stumbled across the pavement toward the hospital.
What would happen now?
What would the Ma’Ha’Nae do to her? They would never trust her again, not like they had previously. She’d helped Andy escape and now he knew where the city was located. That was a problem, no matter how you looked at it. Evie prayed Mirala wouldn’t turn her back on her.
She weaved and staggered toward the doors of the brightly lit hospital. Dawn was still a couple hours away and there was nobody on the streets tonight. Nobody to help her.
Not that I deserve any help. First, I killed their people with my ship, and now I’ve most likely handed their city to the CPF.
The doors slid open and she leaned on the door frame for support before taking the last few steps into the expansive foyer. A passing nurse saw her and immediately rushed to her side as Evie began to slide to the ground. The nausea brought on by the pain in her head overpowered her and she decided it was time to give in. All the fight had gone out of her and she let herself be carried away by the medical personnel.
****
The sensation of cool water on her face woke her and she opened her eyes to see the concerned face of her friend bending over her. Evie tried to sit up quickly, but the pain in her head pr
evented her from getting all the way up.
“Hey, careful. You’re not quite ready for that yet,” Mirala said, squeezing the water out of the sponge into a wash basin. The clear water turned pink.
“No. You don’t understand,” Evie said, her voice grating across the inside of her throat. She fell back into the bed, grasping her head between her hands. She closed her eyes as nausea made her head spin.
“We do, Evie. We know Andy’s gone.” Mirala’s face was still concerned but it had also taken on another look, one of pity.
Evie opened her eyes. “Are the guards okay?”
Mirala stopped sponging her face and straightened. “Two are okay, just bruised. One is not. It looks like Andy killed him in a fight to escape.” She put her hands on her hips and turned her head to look out of the window. “He cut off the man’s hand. Did you know he did that?”
Evie shook her head. “I didn’t know until we reached the exit and then he used the hand to open the door out of the city.” Evie began to cry. “What have I done?”
“I don’t know, Evie. This is serious. I mean, his chances in Sho’el, alone, aren’t good, but if he does make it out and back to his people then this city is in serious danger. The sentinels are searching for him right now, and the city is preparing in case he does make it out and we’re found. That’s something we all need to think about now.” Mirala wet the sponge again and swabbed at more dried blood. She looked into Evie’s eyes.
“Why, Evie? The guard that had been by the door said you distracted him so Andy could knock him out. Why did you help him?”
Evie choked, her chest heaving and tears fell from her eyes. “He told me he’d given your father information and then they’d tried to kill him because he wasn’t useful anymore. He asked me to run away with him. He said we would find a place to hide. Mirala, he told me he wasn’t going back to the CPF. I thought it was going to be like it was back on Earth, the two of us, together, and in love. He didn’t mean any of it. Andy used me to get out of the city and when I had served his purpose, he did this to me.”
Covering her face with her hands, Evie sobbed into them as Mirala gently rubbed her back and tried to console her.
“Do you hate me?” Evie managed to say after several minutes.
“No, I don’t hate you. In a way I understand, especially after the story you told me the other day. I’m here for you, but I don’t know what my father is going to do with you now. He’s probably on the way. Just cooperate. Trust has been broken, but if you continue to help the way you have, maybe some of that trust can be rebuilt.”
Evie nodded. Mirala folded her into a hug.
“I never thought he was that good looking anyway,” Mirala said.
Evie knew she was trying to make her feel better, but the wound was still too raw to do anything other than cry.
And cry she did.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Low Earth orbit - Continental Peace Federation warp ship construction platform
A week after capturing the construction platform, Bobby exited the airlock and stepped into a well-manned and very busy station. Familiar faces moved with purpose through the corridors. He nodded and said hello to those he knew. The door of the staging bay was open, and he stepped inside to see more of the same hurried, but well-coordinated activity. Noni stood in the center of it all like a traffic cop keeping the flow moving smoothly and answering any questions. Bobby grinned as he walked toward her. Somehow she’d pulled off the nearly impossible. The easy part had been capturing this facility; the hard part was getting everything ready for the flight.
“If you lose my luggage, you’ll hear about it personally,” he said, striding toward the woman.
Noni looked up from her tablet. “Robert! Good to see you, friend,” she said as she embraced him and then stepped back. “How much luggage does a soldier need? A rifle and a pair of boots should cover it.”
“Don’t forget my special blankie. I can’t sleep without it,” he said, grinning. Looking past her, Bobby gestured toward the open door that led into the ship. “How goes the outfitting?”
“Better than I expected. Our people have been extremely focused on this one mission, and we’ll be ready to launch in six hours.”
Bobby let out a low whistle. “Impressive. You’re a miracle worker.”
“It’s what I do. How about your team?” she asked.
“Four hundred and fifty of us are ready to go. Do you have enough room?
Noni nodded. “We made modifications and took out most of the luxury areas for the governors so we can accommodate extra stasis units. Are you taking Charles and Fernando?”
“Never leave home without them.”
Noni pursed her lips. “I’m sorry to lose them. Their experience and expertise would be helpful in finding the governors, but this is the more important mission. The CPF has put everything they have into this one, leaving very little here. We’ll have no problem holding down the fort until you can come back.”
“I had no doubts,” Bobby said. “When will the other ship leave?”
“Six months. It’s a massive undertaking, and the ship still needs some finishing and fine tuning. There are enough stasis units for 25,000 people. They were going to fill them with the people they intended to transplant onto the new planet, but we’ll do our best to find 25,000 people willing to fight. We need to stock it full of supplies because I doubt the CPF will be willing to share anything they have with us.”
“No, probably not.”
Bobby looked through the platform windows at the gray aluminum fuselage of the ship. It was big, but not nearly as big as the one that sat on the other side of the platform. The forward section of the ship was shaped like a half circle. It sat on top of a boxy fuselage with engine nacelles extending on either side and the top and bottom. Bobby could make out several weapons ports on her underside. Two men were removing the name Unity 2, and CPF designation number.
“Did you give her a name yet?”
“Harbinger.”
“Very intimidating.”
“That was the idea.”
Bobby was still having a hard time believing he’d be traveling across the stars in a real live spaceship, but there it was on the other side of the window.
“Can I look inside?”
“You haven’t been in there yet?”
“No, I was too worried about securing this place to take a sightseeing tour.”
Noni waved him forward. “Come on, I’ll show you around. It really is impressive. The CPF never does anything small.
They weaved among the many R3 staff that worked in and around the ship. Following Noni, he stepped through the open airlock and into the ship that would take him light years away from his home. The first corridor was small, but then it opened up to the cargo hold.
Bobby patted a crate and looked around. “So this is everything I’ll need to liberate a planet, eh?”
“I thought you could do it with less, but they convinced me to give you extra.”
Bobby smiled and followed Noni out of the hold and forward into the ship. The next room held silver cylinders standing on end and fixed to the decking. He moved next to one and ran his hand over the smooth surface.
“So, this is where I’ll be riding on the trip?”
Noni nodded. “One of the people who joined us from the original crew is the scientist who designed the stasis system. He said it’s like taking a long nap. You’ll close your eyes and wake up on the other side of the galaxy. The trip is about three weeks long, so going into stasis isn’t necessary, but it will virtually eliminate the need to consume supplies on the journey. That means there will be that much more for you when you arrive. The program is set to wake you two days before you arrive at your destination. That should give you enough time to get acclimated to your environment before you go down to the surface.”
They walked further into the ship, and Noni pointed out crew quarters where they would spend the two days they were awake. It was c
ramped, but it would do the job. A small exercise room was located beyond the crew quarters, and then an open room that served as a cafeteria/anything-else-that-is-needed room. They passed through and made their way toward the cockpit.
“Who did you find to fly this thing?” Bobby asked. When he had left Sydney two days ago, a pilot hadn’t yet been found. One of the R3 pilots had been trying to learn the system, but it was so far beyond flying a transport that he was struggling with the concepts of faster-than-light travel.
“Someone had a change of heart recently,” Noni said as she walked onto the bridge. “I think you may recognize your pilot.”
A dark haired man stood over a young woman. He appeared to be giving her instructions on how to operate the console in front of her.
“Captain Advik Saxena, may I introduce Robert Hughes, commander of R3 ground forces.”
The man dressed in a dark gray flight suit turned toward Bobby.
“You!” Bobby said, surprised.
“Me!” the captain said, walking toward Bobby with his hand extended.
Bobby grasped the hand of the pilot who’d taken him and his team from the Antarctic complex to the construction platform the day of the assault. “You joined up?”
The man bobbed his head. “Your Miss Okeké can be very persuasive,” he said. He then gestured around him. “These accommodations are much better than the cell I was being held in, and the promotion didn’t hurt her argument either.”
“Are you sure you can fly this boat?” Bobby asked.
“I am. I applied for the original position of captain with this ship, but was fifth in line for the job. So, I know this girl well.”
Bobby saw a little twinkle in the captain’s eye. “I would tell you that flying this isn’t rocket science, but it actually is,” the captain said. “Put your mind at ease, Commander. Rocket science and aeronautics are actually my specialties.”
“That’s good to know.” He shook the man’s hand again. “Good to have you on the team, Captain.”
