by Joshua James
“Never seen either of you before,” said the man. Ada could smell the strong aroma of liquor and cigars oozing out of his pores. It was stomach-churning, as was his breath.
“We’re just hitching a ride, friend. That’s all. We won’t be here long. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we were having—”
“Now, that’s not polite, is it? I’m being friendly enough, trying to make an introduction and conversation with some new faces, and I’m met with such rudeness. What do you think of that shit, boys?” The long-bearded man addressed the rest of the crew in the Orion break room.
Tomas waited for the rabble around him and Ada to die down before answering. “The name is Tomas. This here is Ada.” While not being hostile or rude, it was clear from the tone of the former special operations member that he wasn’t amused, nor did he want to escalate or continue this conversation.
“That’s more like it. Now we can put names to them strange faces. Me? I’m Josiah Hart. And this here break room, it’s been rented out. By me. For our card games. So I’m afraid I’m gonna have to ask y’all to leave.”
“We’re not going anywhere,” answered Ada, her bloody fists pressed against the table.
“That so? Well, little lady, turns out I might have something to say about th—”
Before Josiah could finish his sentence, Ada had already shot up out of her chair. Aches, pains, and injuries be damned, she punched the man in the throat.
Enraged, Josiah tried to punch Ada. She intercepted his swing, grabbing him by the wrist, twisting and applying her own body weight in just the right way to pin the pirate down to the very table she was sitting at. He may have been stronger, but she’d just spent the last few months fighting for her life, while he’d spent the last few drinking.
“What’s that about us leaving?” Ada asked calmly as she fought to keep Josiah pinned down.
Josiah’s fellow pirates got up, were ready to join in the fighting. They had no intention of fighting fairly, though, and Ada could sense that Tomas recognized the threat of being jumped by everyone in the Orion’s break room immediately.
“Back up, assholes!” Tomas snapped. He quickly took out his pistol and waved it around. The men who surged forward took pause, then slowly edged a few steps back. It didn’t look like a convincing retreat to Ada, but at least it was something.
“I couldn’t hear you,” Ada said to Josiah as she put more torque on his arm, inducing groans of pain.
“Make yourself at home, love,” Josiah said through gritted teeth. “I insist.”
“Don’t mind if I do,” Ada said. She let go of Josiah. The tough guy rubbed his shoulder, sulked away, and licked his wounds.
The others backed away. Ada glanced at Tomas, who wasn’t ready to lower his weapon yet.
“I think we should go,” Tomas said.
“I do too,” Ada said. “Now where the hell is Clarissa?”
Six
Impostor
Detective Sydal was convinced someone or something was impersonating his wife. It was an illogical conclusion—he knew that—but he couldn’t shake the feeling that it was the truth. He was left with two questions.
Maria Sydal sat on the other end of the couch with the detective. Between them was their son Matthew, eight years old, and their daughter Rebecca, five. Their HUDs were all plugged into the same feed for the movie on UEF Channel Five.
Rebecca was in the fetal position on the couch cushions, her little brown-haired head on Sydal’s lap. Matthew was fast asleep. Maria stroked his curly hair.
First, Sydal needed to know what had happened to his real wife. If Maria wasn’t Maria, then who was she? Where did the real Maria go? Was it just her brain that was manipulated, or was she physically someone else? If it was the latter, how did she look exactly like the woman he loved, had married, and had kids with? And how could not even the kids notice the difference?
“Where’s Europa, Daddy?” asked Rebecca. She referred to Jupiter’s most famous moon. The Sydals were watching a documentary special on the many battles fought there, and which were still going on in the galactic civil war.
“It’s by Jupiter,” answered Sydal. He looked over at Maria. She looked back at him and smiled.
The second big question was why Maria had been replaced by whatever smiled back at him. Did it have to do with the murder at Waterman-Lau and their subsequent flight off the moon? Did it have to do with the cultists? And why her, why him?
Was there a third question? There was, but it was too hard for Sydal to truly consider. What if it was all in his head and the woman who looked, talked, moved, smelled and even made love like his wife was, actually, his wife? What would that mean for him? Had the cancer gotten more aggressive? Was it time to tell her?
“Why is there a war there?” asked Rebecca.
“Remember when you and your brother got into a fight a couple days ago?” asked Maria.
Rebecca nodded, head still on her father’s lap.
“Well, you remember what we said about what to do instead of fighting? How to solve problems with other people, with your brother?”
Rebecca nodded again.
“What did we say?” Maria asked.
“To use our words?”
“Exactly! So you see, these people fighting on Europa, the war, it’s all about them not being able to use their words. So they hurt each other.”
“Uncle Harry said it was because the stupid reebles won’t sunder,” Matthew said. He wasn’t going to be left behind in this conversation that he couldn’t really follow.
“The rebels, buddy. And no, they won’t surrender,” added Sydal.
“Why?” asked Matthew.
Through his HUD, the detective saw real news footage from the aftermath of the battle of Abbottsville, a former AIC settlement on Europa. It was a costly fight that had taken hundreds of thousands of lives on both sides. In the documentary, a statue was shown being erected in the now agreed-upon neutral colony, in honor of all the soldiers that had lost their lives there.
“HUD, turn off channel feed,” ordered Sydal. He stretched his back and yawned. “Because, buddy, some people are just stubborn.”
“Sounds like someone I know,” laughed Maria.
Sydal wasn’t as amused. He gently moved Rebecca’s head off his lap so he could stand up.
“C’mon, honey,” Maria said. “I was only—”
“I know,” Sydal said as he faked a smile. Then he headed for the kitchen.
It wasn’t like Sydal to cut family time short. He treasured it. Especially with all the chaos lately, as he was rarely home. The nature of his job meant that at any moment, he could get called into work to come face to face with the worst that humanity had to offer. Any time with his wife and kids was an escape. Now, now it felt like a trap, with something insidious lying in wait underneath.
Maria got up. Sydal could hear her corral the kids as he poured himself some water. All the H20 on the moon had a strange metallic taste to it. It was from the sanitation plant: the very old, desperately-in-need-of-a-renovation water sanitation plant. He tried to think of what he was going to say, how he was going to act around that thing masquerading as his wife.
Assuming he was right.
“I know. I know. No you can’t, not even for five more minutes.” Maria picked Matthew up off the couch. “I’ll tell you what. In five minutes I’m gonna come visit you in your room. And you better have minty fresh breath, a clean face, and be under those sheets. Or else. You think I’m kidding? HUD, turn on timer.”
Sydal slightly enjoyed his metallic-tasting water as he watched Matthew run barefoot across the family room down the short hall to the bathroom. Maria’s parental intimidation tactics worked. Satisfied with her actions, she casually entered the kitchen.
“Hey, baby,” greeted Maria. She got close to Sydal, a nose away. She put her hands around his waist. It took everything he had not to flinch.
“Hey.” There was no love in the detective’s voice.
&nb
sp; “Put the kids to bed. You wanna maybe open up the bottle of wine we got from my cousin last Christmas? Maybe get a little tipsy?” Maria pressed her body against his. He didn’t pull away. “Maybe a little more?”
“That does sound nice, Mare,” Sydal said. “But I can’t. Not right now. I gotta stay sober.”
“I’m sure you can have a glass or two…”
Sydal pulled himself away from Maria’s grasp. “Really can’t. New regs. Especially with all that shit happening out there in the wake of the company. Seems like a murder a night.”
Sydal talked too much and too fast when he was nervous. Maria picked up on it right away. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. It’s just all this craziness out there.”
“You know that’s not what I’m talking about,” Maria said. “Ever since that night, when there was that cultist incident you told me about, you’ve been acting weird. Almost like you, I don’t know, hate me or resent me, or…did I do something to piss you off?”
Though he’d known this conversation was coming at some point, Sydal wasn’t ready for it. Not right now, right here. He didn’t know how to even bring up what was bothering him. It wasn’t like he could just come out and ask about what had happened to the real version of her, or where she had gone. Undoubtedly she already thought he wasn’t attracted to her anymore.
“Nothing. A lot on my mind, is all.”
“I’m not buying it.”
“Huh?”
“Bullshit, Rowan. Something is wrong. The way you look at me, your refusal to let me touch you, is it someone else? I can handle that shit. I really can, if you have someone else. But at least be man enough to tell me.”
Maria was calm. If Sydal believed who he was talking to was his wife, he would have been more upset with her words, or more hurt by them. “I’m not cheating on you, Maria.”
“Then what the hell is it?” Maria asked. “Please. I can’t…I feel like whenever I look in your eyes, all I see is anger. And I don’t know what to do. How can I help you? Is it me?”
Suddenly an alert indicating that he was getting a video call appeared on Sydal’s HUD. It couldn’t have come at a better time for him. He still had no idea how he was going to tell her, if he would say anything at all.
“I got a call coming in,” he said.
“So call them back. What the hell, Rowan?”
“It’s from the precinct. Gotta take it. Sorry.” Sydal stepped away from Maria and walked to the other side of the kitchen, as if that small measure gave him any privacy.
“Yeah, go ahead. Take it. Run away again,” she mumbled.
“Detective. I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” On the other side of the video call, Sydal saw a female police dispatcher. He’d never seen her before.
“No, I…what is it?” asked Sydal. He paced back and forth to try to calm himself down.
“We have a call we need you to respond to. It’s a suspected homicide out at the Aitken Basin Crater.”
The Aitken?
Few people, outside of tourists, ever went to the Aitken Basin Crater on the Moon’s South Pole. As far as he knew, there had never been a single death chalked up to foul play: not one in the couple hundred years people had occupied the Earth’s moon.
“Sir? Are you there?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll respond. How am I supposed to get there, though? Too late for an LTS bus.”
“If you report to DSH-23, there will be a rover waiting for you, Detective. There, Detective Janis will brief you further. Have a good night, sir.” With that, the police dispatcher was gone.
“Awesome! HUD, end call.” Sydal braced his weight with one hand against the kitchen counter and sighed.
“What is it?” asked Maria. He jumped. He hadn’t realized she was still in the room.
“A call. Out on the South Pole.”
“The South Pole?”
“Yeah.” Sydal quickly poured himself another glass of water and downed it.
“How are you supposed to get out there? At this hour?”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s taken care of.” Sydal walked over to what he considered could still be his wife. Maybe. Maybe she was fine. Maybe he was the one losing it. “I probably won’t be back for a little while. Sorry about…I’m sorry.” He kissed her on her forehead, then turned and walked out.
Seven
Welcome To Europa
War was still very much raging in the outer bands of Earth’s home system between the AIC and UEF. The treaty wasn’t just unsigned; it was wholly forgotten by both sides.
It had started with the Atlas. Conspiracy theories abounded. Most on Earth simply believed that the invitation to Vassar-1 was a trap, and the AIC were after the tech aboard the dreadnought. But things had started to get stranger, and called those theories into question.
Seemingly random attacks on both AIC and UEF colonist communities, mines, and factories all over human-occupied space had fueled a resurgence in the galactic civil war. There were new offensives in the most war-torn location, Jupiter’s moon Europa.
Europa served as a barrier between official UEF space, where they were the strongest, and the wild unknowns of independent space. It was of vital strategic importance to both sides. Plus, at that point, securing Europa was more of a symbolic victory than anything else.
When word reached AIC generals off-planet, and the UEF government, about the invasion of Vassar-1, both militaries were turned up to their highest alerts. The AIC, understandably furious, vowed revenge and sent almost the whole remainder of their fleet towards Europa. They needed to take control or take out the moon to facilitate the movement of troops to Earth. If they didn’t, catch cannons—deadly weapons capable of shooting ships out of their fold jumps—would obliterate them.
The UEF, thoroughly confused, didn’t understand why the reports they were getting from Vassar-1 said that their ships had attacked the AIC capital. Their only conclusion was that their war hero and senior military official, Captain Lee Saito, had gone rogue. For whatever reason, he’d been able to gather a fleet, and had chosen to take out the rebel capital.
In response to the approaching AIC threat, the UEF had sent reinforcements to Europa. A blockade now existed around the moon.
And the Orion was now face-to-face with it.
“And this is why I try to stay out of the damn home solar system,” Wan said as he stared at what everyone on the bridge did: a seemingly impenetrable ring of UEF ships, fighters, battleships, and dreadnoughts around green Europa.
“This doesn’t look good,” Tonga said. The weapons expert had a flair for understatement.
“There must be thousands of them,” Clarissa said.
“Hot damn,” Wan whistled. “It’d be beautiful if it wasn’t so damn intimidating. Falcon, is there any way through this?”
Falcon glanced over at Wan, who had his legs up over the armrest of the captain’s chair. “You mean like a way to sneak through? Are you out of your goddamned mind? Look at it! There’s no way to sneak past them.”
“No reason to get offended at the question,” Wan said, enjoying the exasperation in Falcon’s voice.
“Well, this is unexpected,” LeFay said. She stood next to Wan’s chair, arms folded, looking unimpressed.
“That’s one way to put it,” Wan said. “How important, dear LeFay, was it to actually get to Europa? I mean, we can drop you off at one of the Jupiter stations, or even get a little further in. Mars, maybe?”
“No, we need on be that moon,” Clarissa said.
“Of course you do,” Wan said, rolling his eyes. “But the thing is, I don’t really want to die on this little errand, so—"
“Whatever it takes,” added Ada. She stood in the doorway to the bridge, bracing herself on the door frame.
“‘Whatever it takes’,” Wan said. “Sorry, pretty lady, but that policy only applies to getting y’all off my ship and the rest of us as far from all this as possible.” He pointed at the viewscreen. “Nothing o
ut there wants to be our friend.”
“They don’t know you’re pirates,” Ada said.
“First of all, we’re independent merchants,” Wan said, wagging his finger. “And secondly, of course they know what we are.”
“How?”
“How does anybody know anything?” He raised his hand as Ada was about to object. “And don’t forget your two buddies Claire and LeFay are AIC spies. What do you think is gonna happen if one of those thousands of ships decides to come take a closer look at us, hmmm? Imagine that going well?”
“There has to be another way,” LeFay said firmly. “And don’t give me that shit about there being too many of them. I’m sure ‘independent merchants’ like you have a way to get around this.”
“Usually we have security contacts on worlds we do business with,” Wan said.
“But there usually isn’t a gigantic blockade around those worlds before we get there,” finished Falcon.
Wan nodded. “Falcon makes a fine point.”
Wan sat up straight in his chair. He sighed and stretched his neck, cracking loudly. “Sorry, LeFay. We can’t do this. I know I said we could get you there, but hell, look at ‘em. I can’t put my crew’s lives on the line just so you can go on a quest to save us all from aliens.” Wan shrugged. “We have to think of ourselves on this one. Self-preservation and all that.”
“We must get on that moon,” protested Ada.
“I don’t think you understand,” Wan said. “The answer is no, pretty stranger. We can drop you off at the nearest Jupiter station. You’ll have to find a ride from there. Best we can do.”
“And I don’t think you understand,” Ada said. “If we don’t get to that moon, find what we’re looking for, and destroy it, there isn’t going to be any safe place left in the universe. Jupiter stations, Earth, Mars, Vassar-3, the Outer Rim, nowhere will be safe from those things that burned down your home. Because they aren’t going to stop. If they get their hands on what’s down there on that moon, they’ll have the ability to blow up a—” Ada was cut off by Tomas, who arrived right behind her. His timing wasn’t a coincidence, she realized, when she looked over at him and saw the “shut up” look on his face.
