by A. K. DuBoff
“I’m on a call.”
“This can’t wait. It’s about Duronis.”
“Mine, too. Come in.”
Jason opened the door to see his father was on his handheld. “Mobilize everyone who’s available, Michael,” Wil was saying. “Do what you can.” He held up his finger to indicate to Jason that he would be finished soon.
“Yes, I understand. Okay. Keep me apprised.” Wil ended the call and turned to Jason. “What have you heard?”
“I got a panicked call from Kira saying that there’ve been a series of explosions on Duronis. Conditions on the planet are deteriorating quickly. She said the Alliance might be trying to overload the shield to take out the planet. Is that even possible?”
Wil scowled. “Theoretically, yes. It’s never been attempted, to my knowledge. I got the same information relayed to me via the Enforcers—that tip must have come from her.”
“Yes, she told me she made the call. If that is happening, there isn’t a lot of time to get conditions under control.”
“It’s not just Duronis,” his father revealed.
Jason froze. “What?”
“We’re getting reports from all around the Outer Colonies. It’s unclear what’s going on, exactly. Random explosions planetside and at spaceports. No estimates on loss of life, yet, but there are certainly casualties with the scale of it. This was obviously coordinated, and highly so.”
“The Coalition?”
“It’s looking likely—this is bigger than the Alliance’s activities. No one has yet stepped forward to take credit or state demands, though. Sowing chaos seems to be the goal, and it’s working.”
Jason’s brow knitted. “When did these reports start coming in?”
“Within the last thirty minutes.”
And he didn’t tell me right away? In reality, it was perfectly reasonable that his father hadn’t yet informed him about the developing situation; there were other people in the command chain to deal with these sorts of incidents. Still, this involved someone in the field he was responsible for, and he felt terrible that he hadn’t known Kira was in trouble until she called him.
“We need to get Kira out of there,” Jason said.
“Neither the Guard nor TSS can spare field personnel for a dedicated extraction team right now; we need to focus on evacuating civilians in case this situation with the shield pans out and we can’t stop it. Kira is going to need to find a way to get herself out.”
The ports are shut down. What is she supposed to do? Jason stood his ground. “I convinced her to go on this mission. I won’t abandon her.”
“I understand, and I appreciate your loyalty. I just can’t in good conscience redirect resources to take care of one person while we’re facing a crisis of this magnitude.”
“Then I’ll go.”
“Absolutely not.”
“You wouldn’t say that if it was me down there, would you? Or Mom? Or Michael?”
Wil faltered. “That’s different.”
“I might not have that kind of personal relationship with Kira, but she trusted me to be her point of contact on the outside. It’s my duty to honor that,” Jason insisted. “Leave the other work to the teams. I’m just one person, but I can handle it.”
His father pressed his lips into a line, weighing the options. “You’re not going to take ‘no’ for an answer, are you?”
Jason stood firm. “Please, let me do this. I can scope out the situation firsthand and help a friend in the process.”
“All right,” Wil consented after a heavy pause. “Please, be safe.”
“I’ll see you soon.”
Jason ran from the office and headed straight for the surface port. The subspace jump would take more than five hours; that was a long time for Kira to be trapped on potentially dying world. Perhaps she’d be able to make it to a civilian evacuation center, but he didn’t want to rely on that. He’d take a ship that could land directly on the surface so he’d be as agile as possible.
There was the complication that he didn’t know how he would locate Kira once he got to Duronis, if she’d moved from the coordinates she sent, but that was a problem for a few hours from now. All that mattered for the time being was getting underway as soon as possible with hope that there would still be a planet there by the time he arrived.
— — —
Flames and a burst of debris shot into the tunnel from where the stairway door to the Alliance office had been. Lexi covered her head with her arms and ducked against the side wall of the tunnel until the clattering stopped. Her skin stung from the heat and flying shards, but she was unharmed.
Her hands shook and her breath came in ragged gasps as she coughed out the burnt air. That was too close!
She wasn’t sure what had brought the building down in the final moments of her descent, but she likely wouldn’t have made it out alive if she’d been delayed by even a few more seconds in the office after the file transfer terminated.
The universe was looking out for me today. She didn’t want to count on that good fortune to last. Now she needed to find Kira and figure out a way off the planet.
As the fire became blocked by fallen debris, the tunnel fell into darkness. Lexi fumbled for her handheld in her pocket and managed to get its flashlight turned on.
She took in her surroundings. The tunnel was similar to the others she’d explored during her previous exploits with the Alliance, but this one had none of the supply racks or other signs of habitation she’d seen in those passages. The only clue that there was anything of interest to find here was the disturbed layer of dust coating the paving bricks on the floor. Hundreds of footprints had worn a bare patch along the center of the tunnel, with overlapping prints visible toward the edges. A lot of people had come through here recently.
Where were they going? She set off to follow the tracks, trying to quiet the voice in her head pleading that missing the rendezvous with Kira was going to leave her in a tough spot.
Lexi jogged along the path, the limited light from her handheld making it feel like she was venturing into an abyss.
It was easy to track the course. Distance was difficult to gauge in the monotonous landscape, but it felt like she’d gone at least a kilometer before she encountered a rubble pile off to the side off the tunnel—the only feature of note she’d come across. The footprint curved toward the pile and disappeared into it.
Bomax! That’s my exit. If she had to hazard a guess, the port was on the other side of the rubble. Unfortunately, she had no way of knowing where there might be other exits or how deep this debris pile might be. Presumably, the entire port had been destroyed, so that was… a lot.
Continuing down the tunnel to look for another way out would bring her further from the rendezvous site with Kira. Conditions on the surface were unlikely to be favorable, given what she’d seen out the windows before fleeing down the staircase, so she’d face obstacles no matter which way she went.
If she attempted to dig her way out now, at least she’d have the benefit of using unrestricted telekinesis without an audience. That seemed like the better option.
Large-scale feats of telekinesis were outside her comfort zone, but she’d had enough training to understand she was powerful. Some of her instructors’ other students hadn’t been able to lift more than a supply crate even after months of training, but Lexi had always been a quick study in her lessons and hadn’t strained on anything she’d tried once she gotten the hang of it in her late-teens.
Summoning all of her past experience, she created a shield around herself to offer some protection in case of a collapse. Holding the shield while excavating would be a challenge, but now was as good a time as any to learn.
Lexi began dragging away rubble while holding the pile back to prevent it from filling back in. She took it slowly at first while she got the hang of it, then picked up her pace as she grew more confident in her approach. A tunnel out began to form, angling upward, just large enough for her to crawl through.
&n
bsp; Soon, the escape passage was too deep and dark for her to be able to see what she was doing. She could feel the pressure lessening on the load, indicating that she was getting closer to the surface, but she’d need to eventually be able to see her exit point in order to complete the route. That meant crawling into the hole without knowing for certain that she would have a way out.
Stars! At least if I die down here, I’ll go out in an adventurous fashion. She took the plunge.
The uneven rubble of brick, concrete chunks and bits of metal made for an uncomfortable climb on her hands and knees, but she managed to make her way up the narrow chute without too much difficulty. Several meters in, the path took a steeper upward angle, at which point the crawling turned into a climb.
As she ascended, she telekinetically probed ahead of her for any weak points in the overhead, which might indicate a thinner place in the ground for her to break through to the surface. One such place stood out, and she started pulling away material to work toward it. Unfortunately, clearing the way while also being in the shaft made for messy business.
After accidentally dropping several piles of debris uncomfortably close to her face, she carved out the area next to her so that she could direct the excavated material around her and drop it behind. The path behind her began to close up as she pushed forward.
A sudden wave of panic took hold when the reality of her situation snapped into focus. She was in the middle of a collapsing disaster zone, in a tunnel held open by questionable telekinesis skills, and no one knew where she was.
There would be no rescue if she messed up and the chute around her collapsed. She was alone.
The anxiety tightened her chest, and her heart pounded in her ears. Her breathing and pulse were all she could hear in this grave she’d dug for herself.
Calm down! You’ve got this. The self-assurance did little to calm her spiking nerves. She didn’t feel confident. She was alone, and scared, and everything was quite literally falling apart around her.
But she wasn’t dead yet. She had to keep fighting.
With renewed determination, Lexi resumed her ascent. Excavate. Climb. Repeat.
Half a body length at a time, she worked her way up the shaft. After several more agonizing minutes, other sounds joined in the thump of her accelerated pulse in her ears. Shouts, scuffling, thuds. She must be getting close to the surface.
The pressure pushing down on her had diminished, too—requiring less effort to hold up the ceiling with telekinesis. The nightmare was almost over.
At last, she broke through. The sight of light streaming through the exit was enough to almost bring tears to her eyes, and she took a gasping breath of fresh air that turned into a sob.
Except, the air wasn’t fresh. Her lungs burned from the gulp of dust and soot, filling her nostrils with the stench of burned metal and charred flesh.
People had died here. Recently. Her stomach heaved with the realization.
Her head cleared the lip of the tunnel, and the sights confirmed her assessment.
She was near the location of the former port, which was now a steaming heap of rubble atop a blackened, shallow crater. Some kind of bomb had destroyed the structure, likely killing everyone who’d been in the vicinity.
The Alliance evacuated the people they cared about to the port, took off, and then blew up the city behind them. She wasn’t surprised by the confirmation, but it wasn’t the breakthrough clue she’d hoped for when she’d descended the hidden staircase. No, this was just more evidence of how vile people had a complete disregard for life.
Lexi pulled herself from the hole, taking in the horror around her.
The fires in the distance cast an ominous orange glow in the sky. Several charred heaps scattered around her still smoldered, and it took her a few moments to realize that they were corpses. The bodies had been burned beyond recognition—barely even distinguishable as people.
Another wave of emotion threatened to break her spirit. I helped do this. I worked with the Alliance to recruit people. I’m partially to blame for what happened.
She had enough wherewithal to not take sole responsibility. She wasn’t the one to who’d planned the massacre or planted the bombs across the city. But she also wasn’t blameless. She’d stayed within the organization, even knowing they had evil intentions. She still played her role to spread their messaging, helped them organize their supplies. Stars, for all she knew, the shipments she’d help inventory were probably components that had eventually been combined into these weapons.
I’m so sorry. I didn’t want any of this.
Remorse wouldn’t bring anyone back. She could apologize and take her share of the blame, and it wouldn’t change a bomaxed thing.
The only action that might make a difference now was to get the data she’d managed to copy from the Alliance’s network to the authorities. There might be something useful there to point to the location of the Alliance’s other operations so they could prevent future tragedy like what had happened to Duron City.
Reaching those authorities meant finding Kira. With any luck, the Guard officer had been able to get out her distress call before the power outage. If not, they were likely trapped—unless there were other ports which might still have intact ships.
One step at a time. First, find Kira.
Lexi oriented herself as best she could in the decimated landscape and figured out where the park where they’d agreed to meet up should be.
Though it was only two blocks to the park, she found the travel difficult. Between the rubble, remains of people, and overturned vehicles, she had to navigate a weaving path that took her well out of her way. She brought her shirt up over her mouth to block out some of the smoke, soot, and sickening charred scents as she snaked through the wreckage.
So many people dead. She tried to keep the dark thoughts at bay, but they kept creeping in with every corpse she had to step over or around. The small forms of children were particularly difficult to see.
She moved around the crumpled hood of an overturned car, and the small park came into view. An office building next to it had collapsed, covering most of the park in debris. The little bit that remained of the trees and grass stood out like an oasis.
Lexi’s heart leaped when she saw a woman standing at the center of the green. Her short, red hair was unmistakable.
“Kira!” Lexi shouted as she ran toward her, not sure she’d ever been so happy to see anyone. “Thank the stars! I wasn’t sure I’d be able to find you.”
“What happened to you?” The other woman wrapped Lexi in a hug.
Lexi squeezed her tight, as though Kira’s strength could fuel her. “The building blew up.”
Kira frowned, releasing her. “I saw that. I was worried you might not have made it out in time.”
“There was a bomaxed hidden stairway leading down from the upper levels! I spotted it when I got up there and then hightailed it out when the power was cut.”
“Did you get the files?” There was so much hope in Kira’s voice, Lexi was reluctant to answer.
“I’m so sorry. We lost power before I could complete the transfer.”
Kira nodded with understanding, but Lexi could see the disappointment in her eyes. “Well, this entire thing is turning into a foking shiteshow.” Kira assessed the surroundings, her brow furrowed. “I’d hoped to use this park as an extraction point, but the building collapse has made the area too unstable. I’ve directed survivors to get over to Evanwood Park—should be a large enough area for rescue operations.”
“Shite, that’s a long hike on foot!”
“Don’t have a choice.”
“Is someone coming to help?”
“Hopefully. And I highly suggest you tag along.”
“I’m definitely not turning down that offer!”
They set out at a quick jog. Kira easily took long strides as they wove through the maze of debris, displaying a level of athleticism Lexi found herself envying.
Further from t
he port, the buildings were more intact and people were out on the sidewalks. Frenetic energy permeated every street they passed, with groups of people running and others trying to seek shelter. No one seemed to know what was going on or how best to react. Such uncertainty was dangerous; scared people were capable of anything.
“You need to get out of here!” Kira shouted. “Follow us!”
A few people heard her and started to follow, but many others scowled and went their own way.
“What happened?” a scraped-up woman asked, clutching the hand of a small child with tear-stained cheeks.
“I don’t know for sure, but it’s not safe here,” Kira replied. “I’m with the Guard. They’re sending help.”
The woman looked over Kira’s civilian clothes. “You don’t look like a soldier.”
“I was on vacation. Of all the bomaxed timing!” Kira laughed.
The woman gave her a weak smile in response. “My husband was at work. I haven’t heard from him.”
“Communications went down shortly after we lost power,” Kira said. “Right now, you need to look out for yourself and your son.”
“Where is it safe to go?” the woman asked.
“We’re heading to Evanwood Park. It will be a good area for staging an evacuation,” Kira replied.
The woman nodded. “I know the way.” She scooped up her son and took a brisk pace down the street.
Lexi and Kira followed her, putting out the call for others to accompany them to the planned evacuation site.
“I won’t leave everything behind!” more than a few people shouted back, gathering up whatever supplies they could use while sheltering within their homes.
“These buildings won’t offer any protection if the shield goes,” Lexi whispered to Kira while they escorted the group.
“I hate leaving people behind, but we’re not in a position to force anyone to evacuate. We have to focus on helping the people who want saving.”
A difficult reality but nonetheless true. Lexi glanced at the two dozen or so survivors they’d gathered in their group—only a fraction of the people they’d passed on the streets. If the planetary shield did overload and these people weren’t evacuated in time, Lexi couldn’t begin to fathom the scale of the loss.
