by Finn Gray
Teddy nodded. “She was posted to Ares. Died in the early stages of the uprising. I just found out. I guess that’s why I decided to talk to you.” He looked her in the eye. “From the bottom of my heart, I am truly sorry.”
Tears welled in Sabre’s eyes, the back of her throat pinched. “I always assumed she and I would work things out some day. I thought we had time.”
“It’s not your fault,” Teddy said.
Sabre punched him in the face. Not a slap, but a solid right cross that Teddy made no effort to block or dodge. It was a solid blow that sent a shock up her arm and left her knuckles stinging, but gods, did it feel good.
“You’re gods damned right it’s not my fault! I don’t need absolution, especially not from you.”
Teddy pressed his hand to his mouth. His fingers came away bloody. “Nice punch.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean for it to happen,” Sabre said in a mocking tone.
“I deserved it.” Teddy said. “For what it’s worth, I ran into her a couple cycles ago. She never forgave me for my part in all of it. I think she hated me more than you do—almost as much as she hated herself.”
“I don’t hate you,” Sabre said. She was almost certain that was the truth. But what was to be gained from holding on to old grudges? She had lost the chance to work things out with Kelly, but it did not have to be that way with Teddy. Besides, what he said was true. There was no malice in his philandering. It was just the way he was wired, and she had gone into the relationship with open eyes. “I hate what you did, but I don’t hate you.”
“You forgive me?” Teddy said.
Sabre nodded. “Yes, but don’t expect me to forget anytime soon.”
“Fair enough.” Teddy took a deep breath, let it out in a huff. “I guess it’s almost time for the coronation. That’s a once-in-a-lifetime event, even if the new empress is barely old enough to drink.”
“She’s a bit older than that,” Sabre said. “I got to know her a little bit. Don’t underestimate her.”
Teddy nodded. “I trust your judgement.”
“Really? That’s new.”
Teddy closed his eyes. “Come on, Serena.”
“I was kidding that time. I promise. Come on, you can drink with me and Gwen.”
“She’s not going to like that,” Teddy said. “She can only tolerate my company for brief stretches.”
“She’ll have to get over it. I outrank her.”
“You’ll have to deal with her.” Teddy lowered his voice in a conspiratorial tone. “Between us, she scares me a little bit.”
Sabre could not help but laugh. There was no denying it was nice to have Teddy around again. For all his faults, he was still charming in a juvenile sort of way. And he had saved her ass from the Memnons.
“By the way,” she said, “thank you for saving my life.”
“You’re welcome,” he said. “And I know it doesn’t clear the red off of my ledger, but it was nice to finally do something good for you. You deserve it.”
Sabre couldn’t say who kissed who first. All she knew was that his arms were around her waist and their lips were pressed together. It was a familiar, comforting feeling. But it was wrong.
Behind Teddy, someone coughed. Sabre shoved him away roughly. When she saw who was standing there, her heart sank.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Hunter said. “I just wanted to let you know I’m back. You two can return to what you were doing.” He turned and stalked away.
“Hunter! It’s not what you think!”
Teddy smacked himself on the forehead. “Oh, gods. That’s the guy you’ve moved on to, isn’t it? I did it again.” He pounded his fist into his palm. “I’ll tell him I grabbed you and kissed you.”
“Either he won’t believe you, or he’ll kill you,” Sabre said. “Besides, it’s my fault. I kissed you back. That was stupid.”
“It was nice, though,” Teddy said.
“You always know just what to say to make a bad situation worse.” Sabre shoved Teddy roughly aside and hurried down the corridor in the direction Hunter had gone. She had no idea what she was going to say to him.
Chapter 40
Battlecruiser Kestrel
“This is bullshit.” Marson pounded his fist on the table, nearly upsetting his drink. Around the room, his squadmates glowered at him.
“Would you calm down?” Monk asked. “We’re trying to have a party here.”
“It’s Marson. What do you expect?” Snowman muttered. As usual, he severely underestimated his ability to whisper.
In anticipation of Catalina Navarre’s coronation, Commander Begay had provided them with bottles of liquor, allegedly from his private stash, to help them enjoy the broadcast. What he had not done was tell them anything at all about their status or their futures.
“We’re pretty much prisoners here,” Marson said.
“We know,” Crane said. “You’ve told us this a dozen times.”
“They need time to figure out what to do with us,” Monk said. “Everything has gone to hell. They need to sort it all out.”
“You’re telling me there’s not a ship in the fleet that didn’t suffer casualties among their marines during the uprising? There’s no place anywhere for us except this room?” Marson went on.
“I’m sure there’s a place for us but they haven’t figured it out yet.” Monk took a sip of her ale.
“Or maybe they still think we might be Memnons,” Snowman said. He did not quite meet Marson’s eye. Although the squad said they did not fault Marson for their predicament, he knew that privately, they still resented him for unintentionally associating them with the Memnons.
“They obviously don’t think Hunter and Vera are Memnons. They’ve already been released back to their ships.”
Crane rolled his eyes. “And maybe, if we had ships to get back to, we’d have been released, too.”
Marson could not believe the way they kept making excuses for the fleet. Something was wrong here. No one gave them a straight answer about anything. Hells, some of them wouldn’t even look him in the eye. And then there was Kestrel’s two jumps that had come in quick succession. No one had an explanation for that, nor for what sounded like the ship absorbing missile fire before the second jump. And now, the fleet expected them to believe everything was all right because the fleet had launched a vid network and they were crowning a new empress.
“It’s not right,” he said softly.
“For what it’s worth, I quite agree with you.” Jude Vatcher sat down in the seat beside Marson. He was carrying a steaming mug of tea.
“I hope you don’t mind if I join you. At the risk of sounding elitist, you’re the only person in this room whose company I can tolerate for any length of time.”
Marson was grateful for the compliment, but his skeptical nature was reluctant to accept it. “Why is that?” he said in a gruffer tone than he had intended.
“They’re all blind,” Jude said quietly. “And while you don’t know what’s actually going on, you can at least recognize that things are not as they should be.”
“So, what is actually going on?” Marson tried to hide his eagerness to get some real answers.
“Would it surprise you to learn that, prior to our pair of jumps earlier, we were separated from the fleet? Utterly lost.”
Marson had just taken a drink and nearly spewed it onto the table.
“Are you serious?” he sputtered.
Jude nodded. “There was a problem with the nav program. Fortunately, I was able to identify their error.” He smirked. “And now they seem to have already forgotten that I exist.”
Marson frowned. “That’s right. You were supposed to be transferred to your son’s ship.”
Jude nodded. “We’re waiting for a shuttle. I suppose there will be no fleet traffic until after Her Imperial Majesty has claimed her throne. And here she comes” He made no effort to hide the bitterness in his voice as Catalina Navarre appeared onscreen.
“You don’t like her?�
�� Marson asked. He had seen Catalina Navarre up close once. She and her sister had paid a visit to Camp Maddux during Marson’s training. He had been so exhausted that he had barely managed to remain awake and on his feet during her speech. He couldn’t recall what she had talked about, but he remembered she could fill out a dress. Her sister, too.
“It’s the system I do not like.” Jude’s lips scarcely moved, his words just reached Marson’s ears. “Why should someone automatically ascend to Aquaria’s highest office simply because of who their parents were? It’s unexamined practices such as these I dislike. For example, I can tell by your accent that you’re Thetan, but with a touch of Memarca.”
“My parents thought I should be educated on Hyperion. The academies have a better reputation.”
Jude nodded. “And yet, you did not attend university or even officer’s training. You enlisted in the corps. Why is that?”
Marson sighed. “It sounds like you already know.” He had had his heart set on some of the top universities on Hyperion, but had not been accepted by a single one. Several of his Hyperian classmates, even some who earned poorer marks than he, had gotten in. He had considered officer’s training for all of thirty seconds before concluding he would be forced to endure the same prejudices there. Enlisting in the corps had been an impulse decision.
“It’s true that Thetans sometimes find it more difficult to ascend in the ranks of the armed forces than do their Hyperian counterparts,” Jude said. “That farmer everyone keeps going on about, I’ll wager he was Hyperian.”
Marson nodded.
“Think about that,” Jude said. “A farmer from Hyperion is valued above a Thetan who is a graduate of a top academy.” He lapsed into silence.
Onscreen, a priestess was finishing her opening remarks. Behind her stood the Empire Twins. Marson found his eyes drifting toward Valeria, the younger sister. He had faked enough smiles in his lifetime to recognize that hers was painted on for the occasion.
“Valeria doesn’t look happy,” Marson said.
“Would you be happy if you missed out on the throne because your sister was closer to the birth canal when your mother went into labor?”
Marson chuckled. “When you put it like that, it does seem an odd way to choose a leader. What if the younger sibling is actually better suited to lead?”
“My point exactly,” Jude said. “There are so few of us left now, it’s critical that the wisest, most talented, hardest-working of our number are given every opportunity to help what remains of our civilization to not only survive, but thrive.”
“Hey, Vera’s on the vids!” Snowman sprang out of his chair and pointed at the screen. “It looks like she’s guarding the empress!”
Marson shook his head. Not long ago, Vera had been sequestered here just like the rest of them. Funny how her fortunes had turned so quickly.
Onscreen, Catalina Navarre stepped to the podium, placed her hand on the Book of Aquas, and began to take the oath of office.
At the next table, Monk sniffed and wiped away tears. “I can’t believe I’m actually witnessing this,” she whispered.
Marson shook his head, then turned to Jude. “What would you do if you were me?”
Jude took a sip of tea, considered the question.
“The fleet is not without its prejudices, but it is more democratic than government or academia, especially if your commanding officer values talent above accident of birth.” There was no doubt his smirk was directed toward Lina, who had completed her oath, and now turned toward a uniformed man who stood nearby.
He was a solidly built man with brown hair, a touch of gray at the temples. He was an officer, but Marson wasn’t certain of the rank.
“That is Commander Dominic Graves,” Jude said. “He is a Thetan yet he is about to be sworn in as admiral. He is an example of what one of your number can achieve if those above him aren’t holding you back.”
Marson lapsed into thoughtful silence as he watched Graves being sworn in. He reminded Marson of his own father, not in physical appearance, but in his gruff manner. The man looked as if he had never laughed at a joke in his life. He wondered if Graves had already been like that when he joined the fleet, or if the stony demeanor was the result of a career spent putting up with Hyperian elitism.
When the oath was finished, Catalina returned to the podium and launched into her speech. Marson only half listened. It was the usual bullshit. She was honored, humbled, yet confident that she was up to the challenges of the office. She then thanked the senate for their service.
“I thought the senate were all dead,” Marson said.
“She chose a new one,” Jude murmured.
“Gods. They don’t even try to hide their corruption, do they?”
Jude shook his head.
And then something Lina said caught his attention.
“…will not return to our home planets.”
“But we want to fight,” Snowman complained. The others shushed him.
“Instead, we shall travel to the world the colonizers called home.” Lina paused. “We shall set a course for Atlanticus.”
Monk and Sid gasped. Snowman let out a curse. Jude laughed.
“Is this a joke?” Marson asked. No one answered.
Magda Vatcher appeared out of the adjoining room. She looked at Jude through wide eyes and mouthed Atlanticus?
“I know this will come as a surprise to all of you,” Lina said. “But I assure you that Atlanticus is real. And there, we will find safety.”
Her concluding remarks were lost in the buzz of conversation. Everyone had a different opinion. Monk thought the new empress was crazy. Crane reckoned it was a cover story to calm everyone down while the Aquarians planned a counterstrike against the Memnons. Snowman swore Atlanticus was real, and wondered aloud about the sex organs of a Merfolk woman.
“I think it’s safe to say,” Jude said, “that Her Imperial Majesty is off to a rocky start. It wouldn’t surprise me if this provides the impetus for a radical change in government.” He stood and turned to Marson. “I wish you well. And I hope our paths cross again someday.”
They shook hands.
“Mister Vatcher,” Marson said, “if your son could use a good marine, I’d be honored to serve on board his ship.”
Vatcher smiled. “I have no doubt he could use one such as yourself. I’ll see what I can do.”
Chapter 41
Facility C, Soria
“You are all crazy,” Ndidi said. “This is suicide!” She had finally abandoned her tablet and was now holding on tightly to Luthien’s arm. He was paying her little attention. “Stay with us. The earthquakes won’t last forever.”
Rory shook his head. Rory and his companions, along with Luthien and Kally had armed and equipped themselves from Facility C’s more than ample supply of provisions, and now stood ready to make the plunge into the pool. Ndidi, Benny, and Jill were steadfastly determined to remain behind.
“We’ve been through this,” Luthien said. “None of the data support that. We’re going to take our chances on the other side. These four have already proved they can handle a few dinosaurs. They’ll keep us safe.”
“A few dinosaurs. Not a world filled with them,” Benny chimed in.
“We don’t know that,” Kally said.
“That’s exactly the point,” Jill said. “Please don’t go. We’re safe here. We have enough provisions for cycles to come.”
Kally looked nervously at the walls that surrounded her. “I don’t trust this place to hold up, and even if it did, who wants to live out their lives hiding underground, eating protein bars and praying the Memnons don’t find us? That’s not living; it’s just a slow form of death.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Rory saw Cassidy nodding.
“I’m tired of having the same debate,” Rory said. “It’s a waste of time and oxygen. We’re going. You’re all welcome to join us, but if you’re coming, decide now. Last chance.”
His words hung in the
air. Silence was the only answer.
And then another quake, the worst one yet, shook the world. The force caused Rory to stagger.
One of the columns beside the pool wobbled. Immediately, the surface of the pool rippled, the blue light turned teal green. An alarm began to blare.
“What’s happening?” Cassidy shouted.
“Something bad,” Kally said.
“Systems are failing,” Nididi said, furiously swiping her tablet. “And it looks like…” Her eyes went wide.
“What?” Rory demanded.
“They’re coming,” she whispered. Seconds later, there was a loud thump at one of the heavy doors leading out of the chamber.
“The dinosaurs have gotten through,” Luthien said. “That seals it. We can’t say here.”
Another loud thud and the door began to give way. Rory aimed his rifle at the door, but was nearly knocked off his feet by the force of the next tremor.
A chunk of ceiling came crashing down inches from Ndidi. She let out a shriek and leaped back. She hit the top step above the pool and stumbled backward.
“Watch out!” Trent, who was standing nearby, made a grab for Ndidi. The big marine’s hand closed on air, her fingertips brushing Ndidi’s wrist.
The pool flickered and returned to its normal aquamarine color an instant before Ndidi struck the surface. She let out a gasp, her eyes wide with fear and shock.
And then slowly she sank out of sight.
“Ndidi! Oh my gods!” Jill screamed. “Bring her back!”
“Bring her back to what?” Rory said, trying to eye the ceiling and the door at once.
“Is the pool safe? Why did it turn green for a second?” Cassidy yelled over the rumble of the earth and the sounds of the dinosaurs attacking the door. “What does that mean?”
“It happened when the column moved,” Luthien said. “I think the quakes are damaging it. It might be now or never.”
Rory felt cold sweat trickling down the back of his neck. He knew they had to go through, but still, the prospect of stepping into another place in the universe scared the hells out of him.
