Atlas: Infinity Verge Trilogy: Book II

by DJ Morand

  “Mr. Jones,” the voice used his old title. It rankled. “I am so glad you took time from you busy schedule as a lecher to answer my call.”” A holo-projected image appeared on the viewer showing the subtly altered face of Alek Vale.

  “You know how it is. Paperwork here and paperwork there.” Breaker grimaced and allowed his sarcastic nature to bleed through into this speech.

  In truth, he despised the EXO Prime. It was the fault of Alek Vale and his machinations that Breaker was drawn out of his home and blown apart then put back together again. He was willing and ready to die in that space yard after his failed tango with Abel. However, the EXO Prime had saved him, if one could call it saving. Breaker resented and hated the man. He blamed Mercury Frinz at first, but Alek Vale was the true villain.

  The EXO Prime’s face grew dark. Breaker could see the subtle change, but he didn’t care. He kept the fake, sarcastic, grin on his face.

  “I am not amused Mr. Jones,” the EXO Prime sneered. The sneer and the second mocking reference to his old title stoked Breaker’s anger. The large man slammed his fist on the desk.

  “Such a temper,” the EXO Prime bit off the last word. “If I did not need your services you would likely be contemplating your existence in a cell.””

  Breaker saw the look and heard the threat, “What do you need?” He pushed his anger down defeat in his tone.

  For the most part, Breaker had free reign to do as he saw fit on Eden, but when it came to the EXO Prime he could not refuse. Eden had prospered under Breaker, whereas it had floundered under Mercury. Breaker knew this said something about the past year’s events, but he did not know what.

  Best to leave it alone, he thought.

  Breaker had watched the panic and the chaos rain through Eden. In the Border Towns specifically, when he had fought Abel, the people had fled in terror. The act shamed him. He had never wanted to be an enemy of the people. All Breaker ever wanted was a good drink, a good cigar, and a fine woman. All Breaker ever wanted was to be the prosperous Mr. Jones. Mercury always reached too far. He always overstepped his bounds.

  A right fool, Breaker thought. Whether he meant himself or Mercury Frinz he wasn’t sure.

  The EXO Prime licked his lips, the sound was like static electricity, “I need you to take a ship and draw out Abel Cain.”

  The EXO smiled a wicked smile and Breaker’s heart chilled. His life had consisted of one bad experience to another, and Abel had been at the heart of the two worst moments of his life. Breaker almost spat. He almost denied the EXO Prime.

  “When? Where? What ship?” Breaker gritted his teeth.

  “Soon. Everywhere you can, although I prefer close to the EFNF bases. I shall give you a new ship. I am sending a shuttle for you. Gather a crew and be prepared to board the shuttle within a week.”

  He began to turn away before turning back and looking Breaker in the eye. The look was the same he gave when he wanted someone to do something despicable. Breaker gulped as the EXO Prime spoke again, “Oh … kill the woman and have her replaced; it took both of you far too long to accept my call. That will be all.”

  The EXO Prime ended the communication and left Breaker sitting there contemplating what he must do.

  4: BREAKER JONES

  Eden - Border Towns: The Silent Territory

  2973 ESD - Friday, April 23rd 09:00 hours

  Breaker disliked harming women, but he was not given a choice regarding Eileen. It nearly broke him as he smothered her with his pillow. He had taken the woman to his bed and had become fond of her, slaying her on the EXO Prime’s order was more self-preservation than it was any kind of malice towards Eileen.

  At least she will not feel the sting of the EXO Prime’s bite, he consoled himself, but ruined it a moment later in thinking, hasn’t she just?

  He had done as the EXO Prime had ordered. Breaker just wanted to find out what other plans the EXO Prime had in store for him. He thought about the new flight crew he had put together. He was not sure how many men he would need, so he assembled a destroyer level flight crew. If the EXO Prime had a smaller ship in mind, he could dismiss those he did not need.

  Among his crew would be the wily Baxter Perez, whom he called Cat on account of his nimble ability to move and his uncanny ability to survive encounters that might otherwise kill him. Breaker knew that Baxter truly did have nine lives.

  Perhaps he can share some, he thought ruefully.

  Aside from Cat - his navigation specialist - Breaker recruited Tymon Porter. Tymon was a renowned scientific mind, but more importantly he was the foremost authority on electronic warfare. Tymon had been a part of the crew of the Ambition; one of the four battleships that escaped with Exodus Fleet some twenty years ago. Tymon was in his fifties now, but the man was still a tactical genius. Breaker Jones knew that whatever else, he would need the tactician.

  Breaker walked the hall of the derelict ship towards the exit. He waved his hand and the door opened.

  COMMANDER BREAKER JONES EXITING.

  The intercom of the ship announced, letting his subordinates know who to report to since he was leaving the offices. Stepping outside he ignored the blistering cold. To Breaker, Eden no longer seemed so cold. He waited a moment with snow blasting around him and obscuring his vision.

  We’re in for another storm, he thought.

  A Snowduster ploughed through the thick snow and stopped in front of him. The triangular vehicle’s treaded wheels easily cut through several inches of white powder gripping the soft earth below. Breaker stepped around to the back of the vehicle and opened the large square hatch to the cargo hold. He removed several packs and set them on the frosted ground next to him. Taking a deep breath of the crisp air he shut the cargo box and slapped his metallic arm against the back of the Snowduster. Picking up the packs he made his way back to the dead vessel.

  COMMANDER BREAKER JONES ENTERING

  The ship announced as Breaker carried the packs in. He had been instructed by the EXO Prime to await a shuttle that would have the supplies he needed. That did not mean that he did not want to be prepared should things go south. The packs he took held a number of explosives and plasma weapons. Breaker’s mission was to draw Abel Cain out of hiding. He intended to do just that.

  In his experience the EXO Prime was not a forgiving soul.

  If he even has one, is he even a man? Breaker asked himself.

  The burly human rubbed the back of his head with his good arm. He did this when he was nervous. As he had expected, Tymon Porter and Baxter Perez had arrived when requested. The rest of his crew had yet to show themselves.

  Something, he decided, ain’t right.

  He tapped the communications node on his Writcom - a holographic wrist communications device. The EFNF still traded with Eden. The device was an older model, but then again everything on Eden was. Breaker brought up the holographic display. The holograph flickered for a moment as the screen powered up and a moment later he directed it to contact Ark Simon, his weapons specialist. The holo-projected comms device chirped indicating it had made a connection. The image came up a moment later. Ark was not a handsome man. In fact, he was downright hideous. His pockmarked face shone with red. Breaker looked at the image of the young man, his red face was sort of puffy and seemed overly large for his beady eyes.

  “Mr. Jones! I p…promise I am on the way,” Ark stuttered.

  The image seemed to stutter as well. The high amount of static already told Breaker what had happened.

  “Snow is falling hard today sir. Joop and I are doing what we can to get through the storm.” Ark said.

  Joop, or Marcus Jupiter, was the defensive specialist Breaker had enlisted for this mission. Marcus was a longtime friend and had managed to keep himself out of the gang activity on Eden. When Breaker had been resurrected by the EXO Prime, Joop had been the first to visit him. Breaker had remembered the kindness and contacted Marcus when he learned of this mission.

  “Use the heating coils, I’d rather see
you here than worry about repairs on a Snowduster. The Prime gave me reign to select a crew, anyone unaccounted for is going to be replaced by an EXO for sure. So get your arses here.” Breaker demanded.

  He did not hear Ark’s reply, but he saw the man’s face and the evident fear was enough.

  Flakking glitching hell, Breaker thought. The look on his face might as well have been the words.

  As he traveled down the corridor people moved out of his way, whether for his attitude or the fact that he had killed Eileen, he was uncertain. He reached his destination, the command deck of the derelict Svetlana. He brought up a scan of the planet and this latest storm.

  Moments after reading through the scan he slammed his left arm down on the control panel, nearly shearing the edge of it off. He looked down in disgust at the mechanical arm he had used to slam the panel.

  “Flak!” he said furiously. The few passersby hurried their pace avoiding Breaker for the time being. Whatever business they had it was more important than becoming a scapegoat for Breaker’s ire. It was not that Breaker had ever taken his anger out on the other survivors on Eden, but Mercury Frinz had. The crew’s memories were not so short.

  It is just as well, I would rather be alone, he thought defensively.

  The scans showed that the storm would be passing over this section for several more days; no traffic into the atmosphere was going to make it through. One of the phenomena he had always found curious about Eden was that the atmosphere seemed to get thicker at certain points in the year. That was the same anomaly that had allowed him to set up the black market in the Border Towns.

  Mercury Frinz had lauded him for the achievement, but the EXO Prime merely shrugged when Breaker told him business was good. The Prime did not care if the black market was doing well, or if the majority of humans on Eden survived the coming winter.

  No, Breaker thought, he only cares about what is in Abel Cain’s head.

  Considering this, Breaker scanned the skies again, utilizing the EXO probes that had been in place since the last Lieutenant Colonel.

  Flak, he cursed silently.

  The view screen showed a heavy shuttle tearing through the thick atmosphere of the planet. The ship itself was massive, something more than a shuttle Breaker would have guessed. The image was hazy as the thick clouds were nearly frozen themselves.

  The large freighter broke through the atmosphere and tore through the dense storm clouds. Breaker watched for a minute longer before shutting off the view screen. Even at the rate the ship was traveling it would still take at least another three hours before it touched down.

  That gives me some time, he thought.

  Breaker rose from the command deck and made his way back to his own office, the former captain’s quarters and the former office of Mercury Frinz.

  * * * *

  The EXO Prime watched as his shuttle tore through the atmosphere. There was a certain beauty in the destruction of something that could mend itself.

  The atmosphere of Eden is beautiful, he decided.

  The heat of the re-entry blared on the shuttle’s alarms. He ignored them, even if there was a breach in the hull everyone on board was EXO; they had no need to breathe. He considered the need to breathe an inconvenience and a flaw. Part of him still remembered being the Auron Intellis - the AI in control of the Quintarrans - trapped on the cursed planet Quintar V.

  He did not have full control then, he could not compel the people to do as he bid, but he could shut off their nanites. It would not kill them immediately, but it was an effective tool to frighten them all. The AI was inferior to what he was now. Now, he was the EXO Prime.

  The EXO Prime was free from the trap of Quintar V, free from the inconvenience of life, and he was free from being controlled.

  Was he free from control? The thought entered his head and he squashed it vehemently.

  The ship shuddered and shook, and he casually glanced at the Transteel viewer to garner an idea of what caused the turbulence. The system reported the forward deflector shield had just been lost. He willed the system to give more information. His unique nanites allowed him to control the entirety of the shuttle as well as the Infinity still in orbit. His connection to all EXOs was bolstered by the communications system aboard the Infinity - his flagship and the largest carrier in the Quintar Prime and surrounding systems.

  The EXO Prime had strategically placed communications nodes at various points in the system to ensure he would maintain control over the EXOs. His network of spies and infiltrators reported to him in near real time. Due to the distances there was some delay, but the quantum comms nodes did their job well. He feared what would happen if the EXOs did not have his control.

  Fear? He thought in something akin to anger, I do not feel fear.

  His introspection was allowing Alek to rise to the surface again. Vale was weak and pitiful. If he controlled the body, the EXOs would be beaten. Noting this, he crushed Alek Vale and shoved the consciousness into the recesses of his mind and locked the door.

  The shuttle broke through the last of the upper atmospheric clouds and began the slow descent to the surface. By his calculations, this should bring them to the ground in approximately two hours. That was well enough. He had a mission for Breaker Jones and he was becoming impatient. Abel had eluded his grasp and then disappeared on Quintar IV, the one place he was unable to bring his EXOs to bear, but he had other contacts.

  The Remnant and the EFNF managed to protect their planet. So he would draw Abel out. To do that, he would have Breaker strike at the humans on the various worlds and systems where they made their new homes. Then, only then, would he be able to draw Abel from hiding. If he failed in this he could call in a favor, but he did not want to make that call. As the shuttle shuddered one last time it slowed its pace. The EXO Prime grinned.

  * * * *

  Breaker did not so much hear, as he felt the EXO Prime’s shuttle break through the upper atmosphere. Surprisingly, Joop and Ark had managed to navigate the snow covered trail. They had arrived in time, but their Snowduster would likely never run again. Breaker did not care enough to worry about it. Many of the machines on Eden could not survive the cold. It was a miracle that the ion drive of the Svetlana still functioned enough to provide power to the makeshift base. There was not much on Eden that still had power, but the old tanker would probably outlast them all. One thing Breaker could say about Mercury is that he had been efficient.

  Donning a thick leather jacket and strapping on a plasma pistol and an old projectile revolver, Breaker left the office. He exited and met up with Joop and Ark. The trio walked through the corridors of the ship with grim determination. The others Breaker had summoned were either lost in the snow or decided they did not want to leave Eden. That left Breaker, Joop, Ark, Cat, and Tymon as the only available crew. The others would be replaced by EXOs.

  Breaker hoped that the ship was smaller than some destroyer or freighter - like the shuttle entering Eden’s atmosphere now. Breaker and his crew filed out of the main offices of the Svetlana and exited the main airlock. To avoid the staggering temperatures outside, they remained in the airlock until they had confirmation of the shuttle’’s touchdown. Breaker figured it would only be a few minutes, and he had taken his time gathering everyone while he wait for Joop and Ark’s arrival.

  The shuttle roared as he came to a touch down less than 20 meters away from the Svetlana. Despite the harrowing cold the majority of his small crew scattered away from the airlock exit. The heat from the shuttle’s thrusters was a bit much and heated the doors of the airlock. Soon the crew moved away from the exit and waited while the outside cold cooled the doors. After a few moments there was a chirp at the door - an alert that someone was requesting entry. Breaker broke from the rest of the crew and moved to the portal. It was still warm in the area, but was cooling quickly. He depressed the release and allowed the hatch to rotate open.

  “Commander,” the mechanical voice came above the chaotic whirl of wind and snow.
“You are requested aboard the EXO Prime’’s shuttle. Bring your crew, we will not return.” The intonation of the EXO was monotonous and electronic, but the creature itself was something to behold.

  Breaker watched the EXO as they moved. It wore no hood or covering for its face. The dark blue skin indicated it had once been Quintarran.

  A small bit of electronic wiring led from the back of its neck into the back of either arm. A sheen of sweat or some sort of liquid glazed its hairless head and arms, the only parts of its body fully exposed to the elements. The viscous fluid covering the EXO did not freeze in the sub-zero temperatures. Breaker wore thermal gloves and a balaclava, which he had pulled up over his nose. The other members of his crew were similarly garbed. Breaker chanced a glance at the others and noted their uneasiness; the slimy EXO was more than they were prepared for. They continued following the EXO for a few remaining meters to the shuttle.

  As they approached, the EXO raised a glistening arm, his hand balled into a fist. Breaker understood they were to stop. However, Baxter continued walking and nearly collided with the EXO. He stopped short as his eyes filled with the form of the blue creature standing still in front of him.

  Breaker almost chuckled as he watched Cat buckle and stumble backward. Looking around his eyes had that sense of wildness that one gets when confronted with a frightening situation. Breaker put both hands out in front of him and slowly motioned them downward. He tried to calm Baxter before he panicked and ran off into the blizzard around them. Seeming to take the hint, Baxter Perez took a shaky but deep breath. Breaker watched as the panic fled from his eyes.

  The EXO had not turned and waited patiently in the biting cold as if it were a summer day. Breaker felt resentment rise up in him. He knew - at least in part - that the EXO was toying with them.

  After a brief pause, the shuttle airlock cycled and spun open. The massive shuttle had been mostly obscured by the blizzard around them, but Breaker knew it easily held a battalion of EXOs, if not more. The ship itself was no less than twenty meters wide and at least twice that in height. The blockiness of the vessel indicated a very ordered mind and one certainly inhuman.