Copyrighted Material

Hunt of the Reaper Copyright © 2020 by Variant Publications

Book design and layout copyright © 2020 by JN Chaney

This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living, dead, or undead, is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from JN Chaney.

www.jnchaney.com

http://www.scottmoonwriter.com

1st Edition

CONTENTS

Don’t Miss Out

Previously in Descent of the Reaper:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Epilogue

Important Terms and Characters

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PREVIOUSLY IN DESCENT OF THE REAPER:

Cain and his friends pursued a lead on a possible super weapon that they hoped would save the exodus fleet. They arrived on the planet of Yansden, only to find things had gone horribly wrong during an ancient experiment with faster than light space travel. Plagued by hordes of Neverseen monsters and struggling with technology issues, they eventually found their way to distant parts of the planet where they battled a Neverseen Lord to shut down the power grid that was causing an unnatural field generation, which was dooming the planet and the entire system.

Mission complete, they were rewarded with a planet full of resources but a society that was struggling not to unravel. More importantly, they met a man with the star map to a mythical home world called Maglan. Cain is coming to realize that Victon was talking about not just a weapon, but the keys to a bastion of safety for his people. Now they must make a decision before their enemies catch up with them.

1

Loren Jacem and his squad of Kalon Regulars advanced through the city streets, showing no mercy. I followed with nothing but my stealth cloak, Reaper mask, and personal weapons to protect me. The more I saw of this operation, the more I wished I had my Archangel armor and my friends to protect me.

“It’s your own fault,” X-37 said. “You may remember that I strongly advised against splitting the team.”

“Think positively, X. We have the guy. It’s not my fault Elise was distracted by a bunch of children getting chased by Neverseen.” The words I whispered would’ve been unrecognizable to a person with normal hearing, but my LAI deciphered the sounds easily. “Everyone is saving someone this week.”

“Initiating positive thinking routine, starting, now,” X-37 said.

I watched Loren’s people surround a warehouse. “Really, X? Are you kidding me?”

“I was attempting humor. Did it work, Reaper Cain?”

“Sure, X. You’re straight killing me with jokes.” Shadows welcomed me as I moved between smaller buildings, always checking my back trail, always sweeping my gaze over the edges of building tops, never stepping into a gap where I could become backlit and made into a silhouette for an unseen enemy to shoot at.

“Can you get into their comms?” I asked. The Kalon Regulars had once been the elite soldiers of Yansden, fearsome in the most advanced armor their civilization could create—nothing as grand as an Archangel unit, but impressive if they hadn’t lost everything but their helmets over the years. As it was, the helmets were like badges of honor with a few useful features—like encrypted communication channels.

“I could share it with you, but it would be gibberish, Reaper Cain.”

“Fine.” I moved closer, pushing my skill and the features of my stealth cloak to the edge of their capabilities, risking discovery. If technology couldn’t help me listen to their conversation, then I would do it the old-fashioned way. With luck, X-37 could boost what I heard with my own ears.

A Neverseen cried out in the distance, alarming, but at least it was far from the warehouse. The creatures had been slipping away to—wherever—since we cut the power to the spaceport needle. The experiment their ancestors had turned on was finally over, leaving them to roam the shadows and wail their misery. Something would have to be done about them, but that wasn’t part of my job description right now.

“It has to be in there,” Loren said to one of his lieutenants.

“Clean up what I’m hearing, X.”

“Of course,” X-37 said. “This will be difficult as long as they have their helmets sealed, but some sound will escape the bottom of the helmet due to the lack of armor to attach to,” X-37 said, adjusting the scratchy voices I was hearing.

“Getting close, X. Nice work.”

“A person without my algorithms to filter out the background noise would not detect much of their conversation and would not be able to understand their dialect.”

“Keep up the good work, X.” If I wasn’t so tired and impatient, I might have spent more time teasing X, but lame encouragement felt more natural right now. Some days it was just too much to keep up the banter. While my nerve-ware sought audio waves and analyzed them, I watched every aspect of the scene through my cybernetic eye and Reaper mask, sometimes deactivating the latter to compare the two views.

The warehouse was plain but well made: thick walls, few doors, and no windows. Vacant buildings slightly taller than the target stood around the place like a forest hiding it from the outside world. “Are you seeing what I’m seeing, X? It looks like there was a temporary cover that could be stretched over the warehouse from the surrounding structures.”

“That is also my assessment,” X-37 said, keeping his words few as he conducted deep analysis. “Great efforts were made to hide activity here from aerial surveillance.”

Loren stopped talking, looked around, and held up one hand for his lieutenant to be quiet.

I froze. Was the man looking for me or were we about to get swarmed with Neverseen? Did he know something I didn’t? What type of reports was he getting on his encrypted helmet comms?

“What do you hear, sir?” the man I didn’t know said.

“Not sure.” Loren moved into the street, checking right and left almost like he was expecting a speeding bus to careen through the area. When it was clear, he stared into the shadows, focusing on my location no more than anywhere else.

“That does not mean he didn’t see you, Reaper Cain. Commander Loren Jacem is very clever. He could be hiding his reaction in order to gain the advantage of surprise.”

“Yeah, he might be. And you mean devious,” I murmured, suspecting movement would give me away before sound right now.

“That is an adequate descriptor, despite the fact that he’s done nothing to you or your friends since you met. There are only the unusual circumstances of your first meeting at the power cutoff station and Tatiana’s rather vague claim he did something to her brother years ago,” X-37 said.

“Can’t they just go in? What are they waiting for?” I asked no one, especially not X who would give me a perfectly logical answer…while chastising me.

“I can detect no reason they should rush to failure. For all we know the Queen Neverseen is in there creating more of her creatures,” X-37 said.

“There’s a queen, like of a hive?”

“I was merely drawing from fiction archives Tom shared with me during our last slip tunnel transit,” X-37 said. “Be thankful none of those stories actually happened. I’m still analyzing Tom’s fascination with reading things that terrify him to the point of sleeplessness.”

“Yeah, weird,” I agreed, then edged forward as Loren and his team finally applied breaching charges to one of the smaller doors. “They’re going in. Not a bad entry point. Just what I would have chosen. That door should go down with a moderate sized charge and the opening is too small for there to be a battle tank or one of those freaking Neverseen Lords in there to try a counterassault.”

“The interior is unknown, Reaper Cain.”

“I know that, X. I’m making an educated guess.”

The explosion went off, the door flew inward, and the Kalon Regulars stormed inside—weapons up and searching through the gloom with powerful lights mounted under the barrels of their weapons.

“They should use night vision or pulse lights to disorient the enemy,” I said.

“Either would be a good tactic,” X-37 said.

I wanted to get close enough to see through the door, or even go inside, but that would be pushing my luck. I waited, listened, and watched the few entrances accessing the place. All of them remained closed.

“Check on Elise and the others,” I said.

Seconds passed. “They are still occupied, Reaper Cain. I believe they have reunited a family and driven away a small band of Neverseen.”

“Great. Tell them to get over here when they’re done screwing off.”

“Of course, Reaper Cain. I am receiving a communication from the Jelly—Admiral Cliff Hutton is requesting that all combat-ready ships, including light reconnaissance vessels, make orbit and report for duty,” X-37 said.

“He’s not our boss,” I said, knowing this was going to cause me problems.

“He is currently in charge of the combined fleet and has appointed Amii Novasdaughter and the Nightmare to lead the Wallach-Xad defense elements. There are significant numbers of Alon ships entering the system and setting up defensive formations around the slip tunnel entrance and exit,” X-37 said.

“Fucking great.” I turned off my stealth cloak and started walking toward the door of the warehouse.

“What are you doing, Reaper Cain?” X-37 asked.

“I need to know what Loren is looking for. I’m out of time, and I don’t want to get shot by mistake,” I said.

“It would be unfortunate if they confused you with Neverseen,” X-37 said. “Did I just…jinx…us?”

“Doesn’t count when it comes from you,” I said.

“Truly?”

“No idea, X. Just knock on wood or something.” I stopped just outside the door and lit a cigar—because why not. If this was the way things had to go, I might as well do something for myself. And I was trying to be seen now.

“I’ve located a reference to wood knocking but fail to see how it would help the situation,” X-37 said.

Far above the city, evidence of Admiral Hutton’s call showed itself. Ships launched from cities all across the planet, and from some of the fields that had been made into emergency landing zones. These weren’t many because landing most Wallach or Xad starships required reinforced surfaces and infrastructure to get them back into space. The Jellybird was small and better suited for atmosphere than most of our friends’ ships.

“Civilian ships needing further repair and resupply have been given permission to remain in dry dock,” X-37 said, quick with the updates and probably understanding I needed a little distraction during the wait for Loren to come out of the warehouse. “Orbital shipyards are on alert but continuing with refits in much the same manner.”

“Good.” I exhaled, staring into the building and seeing shadows moving. “Looks like the place is just one big room.”

“That is also my conclusion,” X-37 said. “From this distance, it is impossible to know more.”

“What would you keep in a place like that?”

“Almost anything.”

“Not helpful, X. I think it has to be a ship or something. With luck, maybe it’s the super-weapon Victon promised,” I said, thinking out loud.

“Are you admitting Elise is correct?”

“Hell no, X. And if I did, you can’t tell her I agree with her,” I said.

“Please explain the logic of that mandate,” X-37 said.

“Later. One of Loren’s soldiers is coming out. I’m going to talk to him before he shoots at me,” I said.

“Halt!” shouted the Kalon Regular.

I stood there, cigar held down at my side, staring at the man pointing a double-barreled weapon at me. “I am halted.”

“Send me back up; I’ve got the Reaper,” the soldier said.

Seconds later, a wheeled vehicle raced around the corner, stopped, and deployed another squad of soldiers with red and gray helmets and soft body armor. Loren came out with the rest of the building clearing team and he didn’t look happy.

“Hold where you are,” Loren said to his team. “He’s not going to attack us until he finishes that cigar if I know the man.”

“You don’t know me,” I said.

“I know cigars.”

“Really?”

“Quit five years ago. Best decision I ever made. But before that? I enjoyed them immensely and didn’t care for interruptions,” Loren said, motioning again for his men to lower their weapons.

“I’m not a quitter,” I said, inhaling deeply and refusing to let even the smallest tendril of smoke escape my lungs.

Loren laughed. “You aren’t supposed to actually inhale the smoke. The aficionados say that savoring the flavor is enough.”

“Is that what they say?” This time I blew a lopsided ring into the air.

His men took a step back, allowing us privacy.

“What are you looking for in that warehouse?” I asked.

He waved away the question like it didn’t matter then gave a partial answer. “We don’t have a lot of military ships. My people thought there was an old one here that had been abandoned when the Neverseen crisis started.”

“Interesting,” I said, considering the end of my cigar. “You have a star map to a mysterious planet and now you’re looking for a ship.”

Loren moved another step from his men and lowered his voice. “Don’t talk about the star map. The concept of a better world is dangerous to people who have lived a thousand years under quarantine.”

“There’s nothing wrong with this planet,” I argued.

“You don’t know Yansden,” Loren said, holding my gaze and almost seeming like a man I could trust. “The presence of resources doesn’t mean the same thing as the availability of resources. We call the land beyond the coast the wilderness for a reason.”

“As it happens, I know people who know a lot about traveling to new worlds,” I said, putting away what was left of my cigar and dusting off my hands. “Let’s make a deal. You give me the tablet—and whatever warship you’re looking for—and I’ll find this Maglan planet and check it out. No risk to you or your people.”

“There is no warship,” Loren said.

“A man named Victon sent me here to find a weapon that could only be used by a champion,” I said. “I’m not sure exactly what that means or how much of it is bullshit, but I’m experienced in weird crap like this. Let me handle it. I’ll make it worth your while.”

“We were just looking for a normal ship,” he said. Behind him, his men stood rigid—almost like they were hearing every word we said through his helmet.

“Don’t play with me, Loren. You saw what I did to that Neverseen Lord.” Keeping my stance relaxed and my expression pleasant, I tried to convey just enough Reaper attitude to get him on board with my message. “We can be friends or enemies, not both.”

“You must come from a simple place where politics and negotiations are easier,” he said, then put one hand to the ear of his helmet like he was receiving an important message. “I have to go, Reaper.”

“Yeah. Me too. We’ll talk again.” I turned and left, checking my HUD for updates on the Jellybird’s location and the status of Admiral Hutton’s mandate.

“What are you thinking, Reaper Cain?” X-37 said. “Have you finally decided to agree with Elise.”

“Maybe, maybe not. My gut tells me there is something on Yansden, but I can’t imagine what kind of superweapon could stop the Alon and the Sansein,” I said. “Even a warship would be too little, too late. The solution has to be the star map; a world a champion could find for his people. The weapon will be there—something to defend the new home world.”

The Jellybird swooped down on the first landing pad I came to. The ramp dropped to reveal Elise waving me inside. “Come on, Reaper! We need to get moving before the launch window gets crowded. Have you seen some of these ships trying to break atmosphere?”

“Where the hell have you been, kid?” I jogged up the ramp, slapping the button to close it as soon as I was inside.

“I saved a family of nine,” she said. “What do you have to show for your time here?”

“It’s not a competition,” I said, organizing my thoughts and wishing I had all the pieces of the puzzle.

2

“If you’re done slacking off with that cigar, I have new information on the Alon vanguard that will directly impact our survival,” X-37 said.

“Just give me five seconds, X. I’m not even smoking it.”

“You’re thinking about it.”

“I’m always thinking about it, X. You know that.” Feeling guilty, I really, actually, honestly considered putting the Gronic Fats imitation away. Why? Because I knew I’d just antagonized my LAI by suggesting he could read my thoughts. “I take that back. You aren’t a mind reader.”

“No apologies necessary, Reaper Cain. Perhaps you should read the book Tom gave you.”

“Tried. It’s a joke.” I laughed at my cleverness.

“Even I know that wasn’t funny, Reaper Cain. It’s a book of jokes—dad jokes if my historical research and meta analysis is correct. The most ancient of all comedic disciplines. Merely calling it a joke defies several of the conventions of humor: set-up, complication, and payoff.”

“Sure, X. We all know you’re an expert.” I appreciated the banter with my LAI, but it only went so far toward fixing the universe.

I hadn’t recovered from my ordeal on Yansden and X-37 knew it. The limited artificial intelligence understood me based on my behavior and my choices—no matter how illogical they seemed to a computer algorithm. He knew I didn’t care about much besides my people and completing the objective. I’d hoped that we were between missions and could relax, but everyone on the ship knew that would last about ten seconds.

The Jellybird raced away from planet Yansden. We had dropped off everyone we could and had gotten back to basics, no more friends or enemies or romantic interests remained onboard. It was just me, Elise, Path, Tom, and Briggs for now. Maybe I could build a larger team later, but the Alon were jacking with my schedule. Tatiana sent me messages when she could, and I tried not to take it personally when she was silent for extended periods.

We both had responsibilities.

The star map nagged at me. I could’ve taken it from the leader of the Kalon Regulars, but it would have required violence. The last thing I wanted was repercussions against me and my friends, Tatiana’s people specifically. X-37 was supposed to be keeping track of Loren Jacem but we both knew that was going to be nearly impossible until we returned to the surface. For now, duty called.

“You’re not seriously going to fire that thing up,” Elise said. “The last time you burned one down on the bridge, you promised it would be a one-time thing.”

I shrugged, rolling the unlit cigar in one hand and studying the tactical holograph. My friends really should know by now that this was just part of my process. I was working, scanning the tactical maps and reading the bad news as it came in. It wasn’t like we were going to be in the fight right away.

Unless the Alon had singled me out for special treatment—which, let’s be honest, was highly probable—and sent stealth ships ahead to ambush the infamous Jellybird.

“Jelly, run the scans again. I don’t want to be surprised,” I said.

“Right away, Captain.”

Elise made one of the sounds I associated with her age, not something she did as often these days. It was proof that I could still get under her skin. “You’re not even going to answer me?”

“I wasn’t sure if it was a question,” I said.

With anyone else, this might’ve been the start of bickering and arguing, but for us it was like a code for understanding and acceptance. She rolled her eyes and smiled at the same time. “Okay. Maybe I need a limited artificial intelligence to remind me to use manners.”

I said nothing.

“X does tell you to be nice, doesn’t he?” Elise asked.

“Sure, but I ignore him.”

X spoke on our general communications channel. “That is a true statement, Elise. I would appreciate it if you could assist me in reminding him that he is not the center of the universe.”

“I’m the center of your universe, X,” I said, noticing something about the display I didn’t like but couldn’t put my finger on. “Jelly, are you sure the Alon haven’t developed stealth ships?”

“They did not have such technology during our last major battle with them, but it is possible that they have stolen it from us or the Sansein,” Jelly said. “Can you please indicate which sector of the system you’re concerned about and I will work with X-37 to determine if there is a threat.”

I typed coordinates with my left hand, barely glancing at the little keyboard on my captain’s chair.

Tom worked frantically at the weapons console, but also on several other systems that were critical to running the ship. He’d been busy while we were adventuring on Yansden, constantly working on fixing things and improving his skill set.

“Talk to me, Tom,” I said. “My sensors are telling me the Alon haven’t left their formation around the slip tunnel opening, but my instincts are shouting something else at me; it’s hard to ignore.”

“I don’t see anything,” my self-taught ship engineer explained slowly. “Or, more accurately, I don’t see any crewed vessels.”

“And that means?” Elise asked.

“Ah, there you are. I see you now,” Tom typed quickly into his key screen, then swiped his hands across another display. “What we have here are either sensor drones or missiles. While you were traipsing through the forest of Yansden, Jelly and I worked out what some of the stealth cloak limitations are for the Alon. Basically, they’ve developed stealth technology for ships but their tests always end in the crews dying. Almost everything else about their technology is more advanced than Union or Wallach-Xad capabilities, but lack of stealth options remains their weakness.”

“You figured that out how?” I asked.

“There were Alon ships captured during our last confrontation with them. I may have requisitioned some raw data before we separated from the Wallach-Xad fleet with the idea that I would analyze it when I had time. And as it happened, I had some time,” Tom said.

“What he’s not telling you, Reaper Cain, is that he isn’t supposed to have the files.” X-37 paused, which suggested he was going over the collection of data point by point using Jelly’s infrastructure to speed up the process. “Tom and Jelly have done an impressive job with this information.”

Talking privately with my LAI could be advantageous. I normally didn’t bother while among friends, not anymore. But in this case, I didn’t want to hurt Tom’s feelings or make him uncomfortable. The man had a tighter view of right and wrong than I did and would feel bad for cheating the Wallach-Xad fleet, even though he was working for their benefit—without compensation or recognition.

“How long do we have, Tom?” I asked.

“Several minutes, but once they enter our defensive envelope, they will be even harder to detect,” Tom said. “Their scientists did a good job in that regard.”

Elise furrowed her eyebrows. “You can tell that by scanning their approach?”

Tom’s face reddened.

“Tom, you sly bastard,” I said. “You and the Jellybird have been busy. This isn’t the first time you’ve seen them fire the stealth missiles, is it?” I was impressed with my friend but also concerned that the Alon had already been here, and that they had been close enough to duel with my ship.

“We encountered two patrols during the time we lost contact with you on the planet,” Tom said. “Scout ships. I tried to disable them, and reported them anonymously to the Yansden officials. They seemed either unconcerned or unable to act upon the information. All they kept asking me about was something they called the Black Phoenix.”

“What the hell is a Black Phoenix? A ship?” Nothing I pulled up in our growing database referenced such a vessel.

“I don’t think so,” Tom said. “I can’t say why, but it seems they think it’s the reason they don’t have a fleet.”

“It’s probably the superweapon,” Elise muttered.

I glared at her. “Don’t come crying to me when your hopes and dreams are dashed. Victon put his faith in the superweapon legend and look where it got him.”

She shrugged. “I’m just saying.”

“Fine. Tell me more.” Toying with the cigar, I tried to imagine a single ship that could defend an entire planet, or where the Yansdenians would hide such a colossal super ship.

“I’m sorry, Hal. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything,” Tom said. “There just isn’t much information.”

“We haven’t seen any military craft in the Yansden fleet,” X-37 said. “And we know Loren Jacem is actively searching for a warship.”

I grunted. “No comment.”

“One minute until the probes enter our defensive envelope,” Jelly said. “What action do you wish me to take?”

“Activate our stealth cloak and take evasive maneuvers,” I said. “Best case scenario, they go right by us and run out of fuel long before they do any damage on the planet.”

“Yansden is well outside their effective range,” Jelly advised.

We waited wordlessly as the clock ticked down. The closer the objects came, the more I believe they were being used as drones or reconnaissance devices. I took one last look at my cigar then put it into my jacket pocket next to my Reaper mask.

“The stealth missiles are passing our location,” Jelly advised.

“Why would they fire missiles if they didn’t have a target, even if they were meant for reconnaissance? It seems inefficient to shoot them ahead of their ships all the time,” Elise said.

“They are being extraordinarily cautious,” Jelly said. “Much more so than they did during the first assault on the Wallach-Xad fleet.”

“Yeah, they only relied on treachery that time,” I said, thinking back to all the lives lost during the multiple ship boarding actions and the slaughter fest of Slayers and Sansein warriors that were running amok on the decks of the Wallach flagship.”

“I’d really hoped the Alon and the Sansein had wiped each other out,” Elise said.

“That would be good shit,” Briggs muttered from the very back of the room. He had the lights dimmed in his work area and squinted like he didn’t want anyone to see his eyes. No matter what he did, the Slayer’s form was large and ominous in the shadows. “Awk.”

“Awk yourself, Briggs.” Testing the Slayer’s sense of humor could be dangerous, but that was just my style. And he needed all the human connection I could give him. As soldiers, that was the type of trash talking and teasing we did—never giving each other a break until we were surrounded by enemies that wanted to kill us.

He didn’t respond.

“Everyone stay alert. There will be scout ships next,” I said, then settled into several hours of boredom.

3

The Alon attack came as a surprise despite our watchfulness. One moment my friends were hassling me about becoming more health conscious—i.e. quitting cigars and whiskey—and the next moment, proximity alerts blared.

I sat up in my chair, counting three Alon cruisers and six formations of fighters. “Are you fucking serious? That’s their scouting party? They look ready for a serious fight.”

Elise made eye contact with me, communicating her willingness to take orders without having to say the words. Tom didn’t comment on her growing maturity. He had his head down toward his weapon’s array. Path stood ready to fill in where needed. Briggs glared from his dark corner.

“That’s more enemies than we can handle,” I said. “Jelly, send warnings to Rejon and Coronas. Stay cloaked and bring us about. If their course remains obvious, let’s stay ahead of them. If they do something unexpected, we’ll follow them.”

“Why don’t we just fall in behind now and see what they do?” Tom asked.

Briggs croaked something from his chair, then struggled to make words. “The Reaper wants to be between our enemies and our friends if it comes to a fight.” He shifted almost like he was trying not to stand up and pace the deck. “It’s good shit. Awk.”

“Message delivered,” Jelly said. “Bringing the ship about and estimating the speed of the Alon task force. They seem to be slowing. It could be they’re searching for something specific.”

The fighter squadrons broke into several formations, moving about 20,000 kilometers ahead of the cruisers. The larger ships made a triangle with three dimensions, like a tactical pyramid that flew toward Yansden, base first as it were.

“Are you sure there’s not something we can do?” Elise said. “This group looks like they have a mission. They’re not just scouting. They’re going to hurt someone.”

“They look like hunters,” Briggs grumbled.

The fighters pulled aside and all three cruisers fired a fresh batch of surveillance missiles.

“I think we know what their mission is.” I realized this group had come for me and my friends. Reapers had a tendency to rise to the top of the wanted dead or alive lists no matter where they went. I was no exception.

“The missile drones will pass us in five minutes,” Jelly advised. “They have switched frequencies. My guess is that they will continue to modulate their search parameters until they find what they’re looking for.”

“It’s probably too much to hope for that they’ll run out of missile drones,” I said.

“Are you trying to jinx us?” Elise asked.

Before X-37 could chastise either of us about our superstitions and the inconsistency of how they supposedly worked, Jelly sounded an alert.

“Warning, detection imminent. Warning, detection imminent.”

“Let’s make a run for it, Jelly.” I tightened my safety harness before rapidly typing queries and checks on my screen. Results, no new squadrons had joined this group and we weren’t being cut off by a blocking team—which is what I would have done if I were running their mission.

Path adjusted his own safety gear with the precise, emotionless movements of the sword saint he was. “If they’re after us, we should lead them away from the planet and the fleet. Coronas and Rejon need time for repairs and resupply.”

“Good call,” I said. “Jelly, give me some options.”

“My recommendation would be to head beyond any of the planets toward the outer asteroid belts. At the very least, we can inconvenience them with distance. That will give our allies a chance to prepare for the oncoming planetary assault.”

“Maybe they can settle their differences by then,” Elise muttered.

There was no immediate confirmation the Alon had spotted us. Only Jelly’s sensors suggested they had detected our stealth cloak. When we changed course, however, the entire element followed.

“Yep.” I rolled stiffness out of my neck, something that had been bothering me since the Neverseen Lord smashed me into a wall. “We’re screwed.”

“We are moving at our best speed achievable while remaining within the design limitations of our ship,” Jelly advised. “We should be near the asteroid ring before they catch us. Would you like to fly into it and search for a place to hide, Captain?”

“I’d rather not, but let’s let them worry about that possibility,” I said. “Keep them guessing. How much time do we need to traverse the system?”

“Approximately two hours,” Jelly said. “Thus far, they have refrained from firing missiles. At this range, I believe I could evade them without too much difficulty, which is probably the reason for their reluctance to engage.”

“The Alon seem very capable at fighting space battles,” I said.

“Agreed. Awk.” Briggs activated red lighting around his work terminal, illuminating his keyboards but not really putting anyone at ease. The Slayer appeared more monstrous day by day.

Watching and waiting took patience and discipline. We moved to the other side of the asteroid belt without going through it. A direct route might’ve been possible but was a needless risk. Most of the larger fragments in this system’s asteroid belt were widely spaced. Smaller bits of rock could be handled by our shields.

All that could change quickly if the Alon cruisers started shooting the bigger rocks, turning them into fast-moving debris fields. Once they started stirring things up, it would be impossible to fly in this region of the system for much longer.

So I thought it would be better to just not fight amongst the asteroids. The crew agreed, or at least they didn’t argue this time.

The Alon cruisers hung back. They sent out two of three fighter patrols at a time, then started running one out of three at a time.

“They’re conserving fuel,” Tom said. “It could be a limitation we can exploit.”

“Maybe.” I wasn’t sure about his logic but could see where he was coming from. Resources were always a problem for a space fleet. Something as simple as breathable air or water could bring down an armada when an enemy couldn’t force a surrender. Nature was vast and unforgivable. In the void, dark, frigid reality was natural.

“Well I hope they run out,” I said. “That will draw away resources from their main fleet. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s going to come to that.”

One of the fighters came around, immediately slowing to half speed. The rest had darted past our position, not seeing the stealth cloak. Other ships had missed us several times, but our luck had run out.

“Jelly, can we minimize our electronic signature further?” I asked.

“We cannot, Captain. I have the stealth cloak calibrated as best I can, and we are using very little power. Other members of the crew have already complained about how cold it is,” Jelly said.

I looked around. “Who complained?”

Each member of my crew made innocent faces, looking away when directly confronted.

“Not one of you is going to admit to being weak and whiny?” I asked.

“When you phrase it that way, I’m surprised we don’t all step forward and confess our sins. You have such a comforting way with people.” Elise’s cocky street kid nature rose to the surface and I remembered her as she had been when we first met.

“Fine.” I compared my own calculations to those of X-37 and Jelly. “We might as well go to battle stations. It’s a matter of time. They’re just checking the boxes, and sooner or later, they will know right where we are.”

No one argued. The cruisers had spread out and were triangulating their search signals. Every squad of fighters also improved their information of this system, specifically of the asteroid belt, with their scans.

The fighter that had slowed to half speed reduced its velocity even further, then pivoted. Heartbeats later, the other members of its squadron looped back to join it. Before long they were working as a team again, steadily encroaching on our position—destined to find us if we didn’t move soon.

“It’s about to get hot,” Elise murmured.

“Jelly?” This wasn’t where I wanted to make my last stand. The Jellybird was maneuvering, trying to slip through the shrinking perimeter of Alon ships, but we would have to smash one of them out of the way to break free.

“I can get clear of this search party, but we will be detected,” Jelly finally said. “My recommendation is to go now while we have the element of surprise.”

“Do it, Jelly. Leave these Alon losers in our space dust,” I said.

“Right away, Captain.” Jelly cruised toward the weakest section of their trap then gunned the engines. Tom and Henshaw had improved the ship’s ability to travel with the device operating but it was less effective than lurking.

“Permission to fire on one ship still directly in our vector?” Tom asked.

“Take it out and full speed ahead.” I wasn’t happy, because that would not only reveal our position but also escalate the situation. Even though we were at war, no one liked losing a pilot or soldier to a merciless sneak attack.

Which was exactly what we were doing, even if they had been searching for us. There would be repercussions for an ambush like this.

“Firing close range energy weapons,” Tom said.

I watched on the holo display as the Alon fighter exploded, and we flew through its debris cloud seconds later. In reality, exploding ships this small weren’t much to see but we all knew a pilot had just died even if the man or woman had been our enemy.

“The Alon patrol is in pursuit,” Elise said, working the sensor station. “It looks like the rest of their task force is not far behind. Two of the three cruisers had been moving the wrong direction and are struggling to come about in time to block our progress. One was farther away but oriented toward our location. This vehicle and all of its support craft are heading our way at impressive speeds.”

“We are clear of the asteroid fields. The enemy ships have not fired missiles,” X-37 said. “I suspect they are still out of range, though that could change.”

Tom breathed a sigh of relief. “That went better than expected.”

I allowed my crew to talk, watched each of the tactical holographs, and listened to X-37 and Jelly’s updates. Space battles could end abruptly. All it took was a single mistake.

Options were limited. The Alon had better ships, better trained pilots, and reinforcements on the way. I tried not to imagine multiple Alon fleets pouring through the slip tunnels. In my heart, I knew that was exactly what was going to happen.

“How are we doing, Jelly?” I said a half hour later. “Can we kick it up a bit?”

“This is truly my best speed, Captain,” Jelly said. “I’ve already pushed our engines beyond safety recommendations.”

“She’s being modest, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said. “Few ship AIs are able to intentionally damage themselves in this way.”

“That’s not what I wanted, X.” The last thing I needed was my ship stranded in space with enemies moving in to kill us.

“You asked her to do whatever it takes to escape, and I quote, these Alon assholes,” X-37 said.

“Dial it back a notch, Jelly, and open communications with Locke or whoever’s in charge of that fighter wing coming to help us,” I said.

“Right away, Captain.”

I tapped my Reaper fingers on my armrest as I waited for several seconds. The Yansden system should have been good for us but every part of it was trouble. We really didn’t have time to be scouting for our fleet; we needed to be dealing with Loren Jacem and the Kalon Regulars.

I really wanted to know what he’d been looking for in that warehouse.

It was getting harder and harder to be everywhere at once and be all things to all people. I needed a vacation.

“Halek Cain,” Locke said, clearly happy to be here by his tone. “Where the hell have you been? It’s about time you showed up to put an end to some rumors in the fleet.”

“Good to see you, Locke.” I sent a command to have Jelly run diagnostics on the Archangel gear in the armory and the microfighters to save us time mounting up. “Can you discourage my new friends from following?”

“Are you and Elise going to help?” Locke said, still in a good mood but his voice was serious. “Those little toy fighters you have are quick and deadly if I remember right.”

“We’re heading to our armory now. No more delays.” I motioned for Elise and Path. “Tom, you have the Jellybird.”

Path and Elise raced me to the armory. It was a close contest, but I’d cheated by starting before giving the order. With the systems checks already performed, all we had to do was gear up and go through our pre-combat inspections—a process that took less than a minute each.

Moving to the loading bay that Tom had converted into a flight deck, we integrated our Archangel armor with the microfighters.

“Are you nervous, Reaper?” Elise was fearless but her skin was flushed, and I could tell she was reacting normally to the stress of what we were about to do.

“In a good way.” I resisted the urge to check and double check her microfighter. “If I can’t have a good cigar and a glass of whiskey, I might as well be fighting someone.”

Elise didn’t respond, which was unusual. She was a young woman who was starting to feel her mortality, I thought. We both understood what was happening and tried not to overcompensate with our preparation efforts.

When we were done, I checked Path. Time skipped forward.

Sensory distortion was a real thing before, during, and after combat. The wait lasted forever, and then we were in the thick of it.

With Path on my left and Elise on my right, we raced toward the enemy in our microfighters. “Shift vector, right,” I ordered.

We turned as a single unit, the spacing between our wings never changing. I’d never heard of the tactic, but Elise found it in an advanced training manual and we had practiced it. With luck, we would appear on radar as one enemy.

From another quadrant came squadrons of Wallach fighters, thrusters silhouetting their shapes as they raced toward us. Locke’s voice was all business. “We need just a little more time for dynamic flanking—we’ll strike from both sides and above them.”

“We should be able to keep their attention,” I said, checking our formation again. The key was to make several course changes to enhance the illusion. Eventually, enemy scans would conclude we had to be a single entity. Maybe that would give us an advantage later, maybe not. It was worth a try.

“You’re about to encounter their lead fighter,” Tom said, acting as our combat controller from the Jellybird. “It looks like the ship is pulling ahead of the others. Not sure if this is a trick.”

“I’ve got it on my screen now,” I said.

“It’s still outdistancing the others. As far as I can tell, they are the same type of ships and thus part of a unit,” Tom said. “Locke’s force is very close now. Minutes away from striking distance.”

“This could be a ritualistic challenge,” Path said on our encrypted channel. “The lead ship may be looking for honor or recognition. Foolish, but not unexpected from the Alon from what we’ve seen of them.”

“They seem really confident in their ships and their piloting ability,” Elise commented. “Love my micro, but someday I’d like to try a real combat fighter.”

“Vector left, vector down,” I said. As one, we veered forty-five degrees left and immediately dropped another forty-five degrees. “The next time their lead ship changes course to pursue us, we split in three directions. Strike and circle back is the order of the day.”

“Copy that,” Elise said.

Path echoed her. “Copy that.”

The lead vehicle, for whatever reason it was ahead of the others, barely hesitated before coming straight at me. Maybe it had merely identified my ship as the center of the formation, or maybe the pilot somehow knew who I was.

It seemed impossible, but I was feeling extra paranoid right now.

The Alon ship was larger, faster, and had longer range weapons. It also had multiple engines when I barely had one.

I maneuvered through several course changes, already feeling the abuse of directional switches throughout my body. Inertia was still a thing in space, but it wasn’t like getting slammed around in gravity and atmosphere. My fighter’s small size didn’t make me that much more agile.

A tiny advantage made a critical difference, or that was what I was counting on.

I made small adjustments each time he came after me. The rest of the enemy squadron moved into the combat zone, separating Path from Elise and double-teaming them.

Guns flashed brightly in the complete blackness of the void but became harder to see as we grew farther and farther from each other. Even with the illuminated rounds, it was difficult to track friends and foes as they fired their weapons. We were covering thousands of kilometers in an instant, each turn looping in grander and grander arcs.

Locke’s people rushed forward second by second, adjusting to each change in our relative positions. We needed their help now, but they still hadn’t intercepted us.

The Alon leader surprised me, getting closer than I wanted. At this range, his guns flashed like the sun, sending a fountain of death near my wing. Warning sounds filled my helmet. Haptic feedback sensors suggested I’d been grazed several times on the wings, but also on my armor.

The Archangel gear was good but couldn’t withstand that type of punishment for long. Flipping around, I went toward my opponent at an angle I hoped would be a dead spot in his weapons coverage. X-37 flashed up suggested vectors, analyzing and giving me hints faster than either of us could talk.

Reaction time meant a lot to a Reaper, and I had honed mine through many life-and-death trials. Each time my enemy attacked, I changed course and fired back but strove to conserve ammunition. The smart way to defeat me would be to wear me down, essentially lay a siege.

“Identify yourself, traitor,” the Alon pilot said when we were close. “And surrender the Black Phoenix.”

“Where is Locke, X?” Technically I knew where they were, I just didn’t like what my HUD was telling me. “And what the hell is this guy talking about?”

“Locke is engaged with other adversaries,” X-37 answered. “Recommendation: negotiate with the larger, faster, and more heavily armed adversary. Perhaps he will explain himself.”

“You forgot more skilled,” I grunted as I pulled through a high-g turn, attempting to correlate this new reference to the Phoenix thing. Spots danced in my vision despite my pressure suit and X-37’s blood pressure regulation.

“I was getting to that, Reaper Cain, but hoping you would act on my advice without belaboring the point. It is extremely likely he is more skilled than you are at ship to ship warfare.” X-37 refreshed my maps. “I should also remind you CSL Locke is unable to assist you in less than three minutes, which is three minutes longer than your projected survival time in this battle.”

My limited artificial intelligence was going to be the death of me, it really was. Instructions scrolled down my HUD, guiding me to the least dangerous way to face the Alon fighter.

4

X-37 reassured me no one was near enough to listen in, and if they were, they were busy. The fight between Elise, Path, and the rest of the Alon fighter squadron grew increasingly intense. All of it was far away. Without a planetary body to draw our attention, ship to ship battles tended to spread out. “You may attempt radio contact, Reaper Cain.”

“Here goes nothing, X. Broadcast a tight beam at our new friend if you can. Keep it private.” Focusing on getting my vitals under control, I hoped that he wasn’t just luring me close to blast me in my face. “Unknown Alon aggressor, this is Halek Cain of the Wallach-Xad fleet.”

“Aggressor? I suppose I am.” The ship loomed near me. “My name is Commander Peter Tobias of the 1237th Alon assault wing of the Grand Fleet.”

“Nice title,” I said. “Your family must be proud.”

The Alon ship crept forward, then illuminated me with flood lights. My visor darkened immediately. Green lasers measured every surface of my Archangel armor and the microfighter I wore like a huge pair of wings.

“My ship AI has confirmed your identity from previous sightings and voice recognition,” Tobias said. “You killed Victon. He was a hero among my people. The galaxy will not see another like him for a thousand years.”

“Is that going to be a problem for us?”

“The man was admired. I watched the recording of your fight many times,” Tobias said. “You’re not bad. A few holes exist in your fighting style, but it is impressive. That doesn’t mean you will be able to stand in his place on Yansden. One in a million people can withstand the neural load of the Black Phoenix.”

“Ditch that ship, meet me someplace neutral, and I’ll be glad to let you go a few rounds before choking you out,” I said, watching the information X-37 and the Archangel AI were collecting scroll down one side of my HUD.

Commander Peter Tobias, the pretentious asswipe, let that obvious taunt go. “You shouldn’t have come here.”

“Your hero, whatever his name was, sent me here, to this system.”

“The Alon champion’s name was Victon, Reaper Cain.”

“I know that, X. I’m intentionally pushing his buttons. I’m hoping to draw this pinhead away from his squadron, create some distance, and figure out a way to beat him,” I explained to X as I listened to Tobias blather on about some legal this or that he thought was important.

X-37 sent me frequent updates on Elise and Path. They’d done some damage and had broken away from their pursuers. The way X told it, Elise was alarmed I wasn’t joining them right now.

“Where are Locke’s people?” I asked. “Can’t they link up with Elise and Path.”

“That is the plan, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said. “You are the one deviating from it. As usual. Space battles are very dynamic at close range.”

I didn’t have time to reassure my people, and it would have required a lot of lying. I wasn’t in a great situation. Many of the ships that had been chasing my friends were returning to form up behind their leader, Commander Peter Tobias of the 1237th Alon Grand Fleet.

“You are lying. Victon would never send you to this system. It is not only sacred to us, but a legally owned property of my people, and it is also under quarantine,” Tobias said.

“You seem awfully excited to be here if it’s under quarantine.” I flipped over to a private dialogue with X. “This guy is going to give me problems.”

“I agree one hundred percent, Reaper Cain.”

Tobias gave no indication he heard my LAI. “That is no longer an issue. The signal preventing a return has been silenced. We cannot explain how. But it doesn’t matter. I’ve been sent to destroy you.”

“Fine. Gun me down,” I said.

X-37 beeped several times in my ear. “That is not a recommended negotiation tactic.”

“Relax, X. He would have already wasted me if that was what he was going to do.” I hoped I was right.

Alerts flashed on my screen. Tobias’s tone suggested he was also hearing alerts.

“Your reinforcements are here, Reaper, but we’re not finished.” Tobias and his squadron withdrew.

“Does he sound like he’s smiling, X? Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think he wanted to kill me in ship to ship combat. The guy actually wants to duke it out.”

“That is a massive leap in logic, Reaper Cain.”

“It’s what I do, X.” I gave Commander Peter Tobias an Archangel middle finger, watching as more and more of his support units streamed away to face the Wallach attack ships. “It wasn’t a pleasure to meet you, Tobias. Let’s not do it again soon.”

“There’s more to the vanguard than my squadron,” Tobias said, radio static increasing with the growing distance between us. “You and I are going to settle this, now or later. But regardless of who wins, the Alon Empire will have what is owed to us.”

“You left this system centuries ago,” I said, buying X-37 some time to get more information on my new adversary. “You know what they say, move your feet and lose your seat. This system is already taken.”

“There are more resources than your pathetic fleet can use. This is our home world. Everything here belongs to us.” His ship and mine swept each other with sensors again. “I explained it to you in the legal declaration during our first contact.”

“I wasn’t listening,” I said, flying to join my friends.

“Unacceptable,” Tobias snapped, unreasonably aggravated. “You’re just a rogue! How dare you!”

Instead of answering, I just laughed at him—which had the exact effect I was looking for.

“You son of a low born family!” Tobias shouted. “Do not provoke me! I wanted a duel of honor, but you are insufferable.”

I listened to him rant.

“Reaper Cain, I need to draw your attention to the slip tunnel,” X-37 said.

I adjusted the display settings in my HUD. Unlike the bridge of the Jellybird, I only had so much screen space even if some of it had the illusion of being projected beyond my helmet.

“I can confirm that Commander Peter Tobias is merely leading a Vanguard element, though I suspect his unit is more of a task force sent to eliminate you, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said. “Twenty-seven other vanguards have emerged from the slip tunnel and are heading toward Yansden Planet.”

“There can only be one Vanguard, X.” Nothing ratched up my stress levels than my LAI attempting to be dramatic.

“Each fleet has its own Vanguard, Reaper Cain. There are at least twenty-seven fully operational Alon fleets entering the Yansden system. Space is a big place; there is lots of room for enemies.”

I watched each group of ships deploy with military precision and spread across the system. I could hear my pulse pounding and a feeling of dread filled me. “Just the Vanguard units are more than we faced the last time.”

“It is an excellent estimate, Reaper Cain. You are correct. The Vanguard elements, identifiable by their movement patterns as not the main force, are 107% of anything we previously encountered from the Alon,” X-37 said.

I didn’t hear Tobias laughing as he hailed me for a second because I was preoccupied with the new arrivals in the system.

“You know what, Reaper?” Tobias sounded like a different person—aggressive but a bit more relaxed and less formal. “I wanted a face-to-face duel, but my orders are to take you out at the first opportunity, and unlike you, I am a good soldier.”

“You don’t know what kind of soldier I am,” I said without thinking.

“I know your type. And I know you’re a selfish, undisciplined slob who thinks he is a hotshot and can win fights based on raw talent. I don’t know what your Union, or whatever it is called, has for military intelligence, but ours is good.”

“X, I’m going to teach this guy a lesson,” I said as I reversed directions and accelerated toward Tobias at full speed.

“Very good, Reaper Cain.” X-37 rapidly adjusted my tactical feed and gave me maneuvering options.

“You’re not going to argue with me?” I asked. This seemed like the exact type of thing X-37 would think is reckless.

“You’ve clearly made up your mind, and if this individual is eliminated, it will make future confrontations with the Alon easier for us,” X-37 said.

“What are you doing, Reaper?” Elise demanded, the sounds of ship to ship battle audible in her cockpit.

“I’m going to put this guy out of business,” I said.

Instead of arguing or cursing, Elise hesitated. “Okay, Reaper. We’ll try to keep the rest of them busy. If Path or I can break free, we will try to get there and help you double-team him. And don’t argue. You’re going to need help.”

“Thanks, kid.” I picked one of the less obvious attack vectors X-37 had suggested. It was one of three that X and the Archangel LAI agreed on.

“And now it’s just you and me,” Tobias said.

I fired two small missiles, hoping he would worry about more streaking toward him and wouldn’t realize that was half my load. Most of my attack capability relied on what were essentially overdesigned recoilless machine guns. With a limited array of ammunition to choose from, Elise and I had finally settled on small tungsten rods with depleted uranium tips. They didn’t look impressive in the magazine, but there were a lot of them and all I needed to do was make small holes in my enemy. Atmosphere loss would do the rest.

When these rounds flew from the barrel, they burned bright enough to see, and in the void of space, that made them very bright indeed. At a distance, the visual effect diminished rapidly. What I was about to do was going to fill my retinas with afterimages and hopefully kill the hell out of one commander Peter Tobias of the 1237th Alon Grand Fleet.

Tobias fired. A pair of rockets came at each of my flanks on looping, faster than I expected vectors, while his auto cannons blasted down the middle.

I dropped, then popped back up onto my course. It was risky because if he kept his finger on the trigger, I would be flying straight into a stream of death.

Fortunately, my instincts proved correct. The man was testing me out, getting a feel for how this would go. I tried not to feel satisfied that I had gone against both X-37’s and the Archangel LAI’s advice and been right for once.

“You’re not so talkative now,” Tobias said.

“What, are we having a spelling contest?”

“You make too many jokes,” Tobias said, the strain of an aggressive combat maneuver apparent in his voice.

I flipped over the micro-fighter and made several hard turns, knowing in advance there was a pretty good chance it would cause me to pass out or at least wish I was dead from the g-forces I had to pull. What neither Tobias nor any of the computers with a stake in this fight understood was that sometimes I just didn’t give a fuck.

Street fights, battlefield brawls, and honor duels all came down to meanness. The ability to give and receive damage was one of my strengths. And if I was wrong about this one, then I was dead and wouldn’t be in any condition to care.

Proprioception was a bizarre phenomenon in this environment. I felt out of touch with myself, but also like an unstoppable god of war. After several long seconds of trying not to pass out, I came to a place that seemed like I was above and ahead of Tobias. The best part—he was still looking for me right where I had been moments ago.

I came down with all the fury and rage of a true Reaper, firing my last two rockets and holding down my auto cannons.

Tobias took evasive maneuvers, absorbing as much damage as possible on his shields. We were so close together that I saw atmosphere venting from sections near the base of his fighter wings. These protrusions were short, not nearly as graceful as what I had on my micro-fighter because I sometimes had to go into the atmosphere. His wings were mostly for holding weapons and engines.

I flew straight at my adversary, then took my own evasive maneuvers before he could launch a counterattack. “That was amazing, X. Please tell me you have a recording of that fight.”

“I’ll mark it for archival,” X-37 said. “You were lucky.”

“Luck!”

Tobias interrupted us. “That was well done, Reaper. You clipped one of my fuel lines. Let’s try this again sometime in a new venue. Maybe then you will have the prize I require for my people.”

With that, he sped away from the conflict faster than I could pursue.

“Take your prize and shove it.” My head was pounding

“What prize?” X-37 asked.

“He thinks I have the Phoenix, whatever that is,” I said. “Don’t tell Elise. It would only bolster her hope for a superweapon that probably doesn’t exist.”

“You should have destroyed him,” X-37 said. “There were at least two distinct instances where you held back.”

“Says you.” Doubt surged as I thought about what my X unit was telling me and what Tobias had said.

“Are you going soft or is there some point to mercy?” X-37 replayed the final seconds of the battle and revealed that I had in fact pulled my finger from the trigger when another second of sustained fire would have killed the shit out of my enemy.

“I don’t know what that was.” I was bothered by what I had seen.

“I’m marking him as a priority threat. He is dangerous and clearly stated a grudge against you personally,” X-37 said.

“I flinched. Sue me. Ship to ship combat isn’t my strongest skill set.”

“It is not, Reaper Cain.”

5

Rejoining my friends in the rest of the Wallach squadron took less than fifteen minutes, but it felt like longer. I replayed the events over and over in my head. X-37, mercifully, refrained from pointing out each mistake I’d made, how I’d made it, and the unintended consequences that were going to really screw us next time we ran into this guy.

Most of these issues I could brush off—X’s opinion notwithstanding. My hesitation when I had the clear advantage was what bothered me the most. Before my incarceration, that would’ve never happened.

“Elise and Path are falling in beside you,” X-37 said. “Recommendation: put off your brooding until later. I might even agree you need a cigar on the observation deck when this is over.”

“That is generous, X.” Work was a good way to hide from the thoughts and memories in my head. I coordinated maneuvers with Elise and Path, and we went as one unit back to the Jellybird just as we had left it.

We docked, disembarked, and made sure our microfighters and Archangel armor was cared for.

“Tom and Jelly would like you on the bridge,” X-37 said.

“I’m on my way.” I motioned for Elise and Path to follow if they wanted. They begged off, saying they had other things to do right now. I had no idea what those things might be, but suspected it was a post-combat ritual of some sort. Path, the sword saint, never needed an excuse to meditate over what he had done or the state of the universe in general. As for Elise…I didn’t know what she was up to, but it seemed best to leave her be. She wasn’t a kid anymore no matter what I called her.

I was tired. Muscles ached that I hadn’t thought about for months. The first chance I got, I snatched a water globe and downed it. The ship to ship fighting had taken more out of me than I’d realized. In the future, I would respect fighter pilots more. Did they all get pounding headaches after close combat?

Jelly greeted me the moment I stepped onto the bridge. “Welcome back, Captain.”

“Good to be here.” I plopped into my chair. “That was a close one.”

Tom looked pale but didn’t say anything.

“Indeed, Captain. I recorded the conflict from our vantage point. It looked quite harrowing,” Jelly said. “Captain Novasdaughter would like a word with you.”

That brightened my mood. Despite everything that had happened during our struggle to capture the Nightmare, I had a fond place in my heart for the reluctant captain, her stealth carrier, and its sister ship the Spirit of Wallach. It was good to have strong allies.

“Sounds good, Jelly. Put her through as soon as she’s ready,” I said, and waited.

Moments later, I heard Novasdaughter’s voice and gazed upon her smiling face on the holo screen. We had a history. The first time I’d seen her she had been a child fleeing a Union bombardment on a bridge. I’d saved her and her sister, but watched her mother die and lost my arm during the incident.

“It’s good to see you, Reaper,” Novasdaughter said. “I can’t say as much about the Alon ships streaming through the slip tunnel.”

“Yeah, that sucks. I ran into one of their Vanguard leaders, Commander Peter Tobias of the 1237th wing of the Alon Grand Fleet,” I said. “X-37 is sending over the data now. His unit identification suggests there will be a lot more Alon coming our way.”

“Yes, I’m looking at the information now,” Novasdaughter said.

“Congratulations on your promotion.” I meant the compliment.

“Thanks. To be honest, I’m trying to get myself back in a fighter again,” she said. “There is a shorter life expectancy, but it’s simpler. Running a warship isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”

“You’ve done it before,” I said.

“That was temporary. Hard to do much wrong when you know you can hand it all off to someone else later. Now everything is squarely on my shoulders,” she said. “We’re moving into a stronger position to block the Alon fleet from advancing on Planet Yansden.”

“Understood,” I said. “We’ll stay with Locke and his squadron unless you need us someplace else.”

“That works for now,” Novasdaughter said. “I imagine they will need you on the planet if it comes to repelling an invasion.”

“X, put that on my calendar. Repel the Alon invasion.”

Novasdaughter laughed.

* * *

Once I was done talking to Novasdaughter, I went to the maintenance bay to finish my work on my Archangel armor and micro-fighter. There was a good chance I would need both soon. Everyone stayed busy, trying not to focus on what lay ahead. There had been other crises facing the Wallach-Xad fleet but the sheer numbers of enemies were different this time.

“What’s the fleet doing?” I asked as I turned a wrench, not at all in competition with Elise or Path who were also working on their main chassis.

“Less than one hour from the first major confrontation,” X-37 answered.”That will give you just enough time to be ready.”

“Agreed. Send a message to Locke. Tell him we haven’t deployed in our micro-fighters but are available,” I said.

“Done!” Elise jumped back from her project, thrusting one hand toward the ceiling as though declaring victory.

I leaned out from my own work to stare at her. “Wasn’t a race.”

“It’s always a race, Reaper.” She meandered to my workstation and started peeking over my shoulder, basically being in the way and a huge pain in my backside.

“I’m just checking a few things,” I said.

“You can’t over-tighten these fasteners.” She picked up a wrench and began poking around, dodging me when I tried to swat her away. “Listen, Reaper. You’re good, but you really should let Tom do the final adjustments.”

“He’s busy with the rest of the ship.” I finished my work, closed the last hatch, and shooed Elise back. “That’s it. Good to go.”

“I should check it, just like one of our pre-combat inspections,” Elise insisted, trying to edge around me.

I sidestepped to block her. “It’s good. Everything checks out. I don’t see you micromanaging Path.”

“I always check his modifications,” she said as he stated the same thing. “We respect each other’s help.”

“Well aren’t you two special.” Putting up my hands, I stepped back and motioned for her to do whatever she wanted to. “Knock yourself out.”

She sauntered past me, looking at my tools and my Archangel armor. “I think I will. Check your modifications, not knock myself out.”

“It is a good practice, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said. “Redundancies keep ships and other important equipment from critical malfunctions.”

I followed Elise through her inspection of my gear and noticed several things. She had a keen eye for these things and worked quickly. I might not ever admit it to her, but I felt better after she gave my rig a once over. While that was happening, Path inspected her armor and micro-fighter.

“Thanks, kid.”

She looked at me, head tilted slightly. “How long are you going to call me a kid?”

“Forever. Or until I think of something better,” I said. “We need to head back to the bridge and check in with fleet command, then figure out if they’re going to use us in our microfighter capacity or to crew the Jellybird.”

“Sounds good,” she said. “Tom, we’re done down here. If you have time, we always appreciate double-checking our adjustments.”

“I’ll make some time for it once I finish in the engine room,” Tom said over the ship communications. “We’re going to need fuel. Dashing about the Yansden system has been surprisingly taxing on the ship.”

Elise, Path, and I went to the bridge to check on the larger battle. Jelly had several screens out to monitor all the different battle groups the Alon were amassing.

“Holy shit,” Elise said as she dropped into her chair and stared at the sensor arrays.

“That is a lot of ships,” Path said. Outside of his armor, he looked as psychedelic as a dance music DJ with his piercings and glowing inserts. The contrast grew on a person. “It will be a true warrior’s contest. We may all face our final test today.”

“Welcome back, Captain,” Jelly said. “I’ve received communications from Captain Novasdaughter of the combined fleet defensive strike group and CSL Locke. Both request that you remain on board your ship for the time being. The impending engagement does not favor the use of very small craft.”

“Sounds good. Path, you’re on weapons until Tom gets here. Elise, sensors and communications as usual. I’ll sit here with my cigar,” I said.

“Ha, ha. Very funny.” Elise flipped through a half dozen holo screens.

Three formations of enemy ships accelerated toward the Wallach held sector. There were Xad ships on each flank, but they were loitering at their maximum effective distance from this conflict. I suspected there were stealth vessels in strategic locations. The Spirit of Wallach was definitely in stealth mode, holding a position at a fallback point closer to the planet. The Nightmare was visible. I assumed Captain Novasdaughter was going to issue an ultimatum before the fight began and wouldn’t use the feature until absolutely necessary.

Alon ships rushed forward, rapidly nearing the envelope when they would need to deploy weapons or peel away from the engagement.

“This is Captain Amii Novasdaughter of the Wallach-Xad fleet. We have been asked to assist the people of the Yansden system and their primary planet within. By galactic common law, they are now under our protection. We are delivering humanitarian aid and cannot be attacked without provocation. Please state your intentions and understand that aggression will not be tolerated,” she said.

“Spoken with the confidence of a Union officer,” Elise said. “I wonder if they have any concept of galactic common law.”

“That’s a good question.” I listened to the conversation but was also checking on the people I knew and cared about throughout the system, especially my mother and my sister. I wasn’t sure where Bug was, and I wondered what Tatiana thought about this invasion by her long-lost people. She hadn’t messaged me for a while now.

“Unsanctioned military vessel,” came a man’s strong voice. “This is Admiral Braxton Oberland of the 1344th Wing of the Alon Grand Fleet. I demand your complete and immediate surrender.”

“Well, Admiral, we like to talk before we start issuing impossible demands,” Novasdaughter said. “I’m not sure how your people do it.”

“Silence, woman,” Admiral Oberland said. “Must I define the word immediate. Our software and our translation specialists assure me that I spoke correctly. The fault must be with you.”

Novasdaughter crossed her arms, standing before the holo screen with the cocky defiance of a fighter pilot and the confidence of an acting vice admiral. “I was told you’d say something like that. As I understand it, the Kalon are the predecessors of the Alon. Which would suggest the two of you would have a lot of catching up to do. I admit that I found it interesting how terrified they were of what your actions would be when you returned to the system.”

“We only act within our rights and do our duty,” Admiral Oberland said. “No one of status was left behind.”

“Maybe a little conversation would be in order after several thousand years of the silent treatment,” Novasdaughter said. “Call me crazy—“

“What a strange thing to say,” Oberland interrupted. “Why would you diminish yourself with such a statement during official negotiations?”

“Negotiations?” Novasdaughter asked. “Is that what we’re doing? Because I’m not sure you understand the concept. We need to come to some common ground, agree to disagree, and find a compromise we can all live with.”

“That might be how it is done between equals,” Admiral Oberland said. “But you are a vastly inferior force and we have it within our rights to impose our will.”

I expected even more bravado from Novasdaughter, but she knew exactly what she was doing. I felt for her and didn’t like the decision she was going to have to make.

“I regret that that is your decision, Admiral Oberland. We stand ready to defend and urge you to reconsider your actions,” Novasdaughter said.

In this battle it looked like both sides had selected sphere-like formations, with most of their heavy ships in the front. Jelly’s main tactical display made it look like green and red balls were racing toward each other.

We were in part of the third Wallach combat group, toward the left spherical flank, basically.

“You know what? Space battles are good for us,” I said. “Makes us think three dimensionally. Might be useful in hand-to-hand combat as well.”

“I’m not sure I like the Reaper’s version of positive thinking.” Elise pulled up one tactical screen after another, checking on several different parts of the battle. “This is so aggravating. We need to get in there.”

“We need to stay in formation,” I corrected.

Elise exhaled forcefully, then leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. “We are so far to the back of the sphere, we’ll be lucky to see any action.”

“That’s actually fortunate,” Jelly said. “We are not a combat vessel and should avoid direct combat.”

None of us spoke for a while after that. We watched the scene change, slowly at first, then very rapidly once the spheres were intermingled. A few ships got past the first layer of the Wallach attack group we were part of. Path took shots at them and Jelly evaded them with little difficulty.

“Novasdaughter to all battle groups,” Novasdaughter said. “Head back to rendezvous point one zero alpha and prepare for phase two.”

Tension remained high despite the small part we played in the engagement. Compared to our first battle with Commander Peter Tobias and his goons, we were practically spectators now.

Which was what we should be in this type of engagement. I understood how Elise felt. Neither of us were the type to sit around while other people did the dangerous stuff.

I had a feeling we were going to get more than our share of it soon. “How are we doing, X?”

The pause before my limited artificial intelligence answered was as long as any I remembered. I almost started performing my own calculations, something I’d been trying to do more to stay sharp. In this case, there was a lot of data to manipulate and I didn’t want to risk imprecise conclusions. Wishful thinking and my mediocre math skills could get us killed.

“The initial engagement went in our favor,” X-37 said. “I consulted with Jelly, the AI of the Nightmare, and the AI of the Spirit of Wallach. We reached a consensus. It is unlikely we will have that much success in the future, and Novasdaughter made a good decision pulling back to the stronger point where we may concentrate our forces while drawing the enemy over a greater distance from their point of entry into the system.”

“Do we have any chance of surviving or should we start looking for a way out of here?” I didn’t like asking the question because I didn’t think leaving was possible either.

“There are very hard times ahead,” X-37 said. “My analysis suggests the planet will be invaded and battles will be fought in all theaters, including urban guerrilla resistance and pitched battles in the wilderness.”

“The slip tunnel has released additional Alon ships,” Jelly informed in an informational tone I thought might be intended to soften the blow. “This is the largest contingent we’ve seen.”

“There were already too many for us to handle,” Elise said.

I knew what was going to come next and didn’t want to get her hopes up.

“I think we need to get back to the planet and find that secret weapon,” Elise said.

I decided not to argue with her. Maybe she was right, maybe she was wrong. During previous missions I’d always been able to find proof of our objective’s existence without much effort. Yansden continued to be difficult in this way and I thought Loren was playing us false.

“X, what are the chances Loren could tell us exactly what the Black Phoenix is?” I asked privately.

“Unknown. If he was certain of what he was looking for, he should be able to find it much easier than seems to be the case. It is likely he has failed because he falsely believes it is a ship and is thus looking in all the wrong places,” X-37 said. “Furthermore, if he did know what and where it was, he has no reason to share this knowledge with us.”

“He knows,” I argued. “And I want an explanation for why he refuses to share. Next time I see him, I’m stealing his star map.”

“I set steal Loren’s tablet on your list of reminders,” X-37 said, serious as always.

Digging in my jacket pocket, which felt bulky, to check my Reaper mask, I remembered Tom’s tablet book of jokes was still in there. Tucking it into a storage bin would be a good idea, but X would start quoting from it and no one wanted that misery added to our situation.

“Is there something wrong, Reaper Cain? Would you like me to read a few pages from that book you are gripping as though to prevent it from biting you?” X-37 asked.

“Nothing’s wrong, X. Mind your own business.”

“Well, if you get tired of your current reading material, I could make a recommendation,” X-37 said.

Everyone on the bridge groaned.

“There is a particularly fascinating book about antigravity in my library. It’s impossible to put down,” X-37 said.

“Make him stop,” Elise said.

“X, I’m not kidding. No more jokes. We’re begging you.” I interlocked my fingers as though praying.

“Sincerity detected. Humor algorithm paused.”

* * *

I waited about ninety minutes until Novasdaughter could take my call. I asked for privacy but told her it wasn’t necessary if she decided the bridge crew needed to hear it.

“I’ll take it in my ready room,” she said.

Moments later, Jelly received a secure communications link. “I have Captain Novasdaughter on the line, Captain.”

“Thanks, Jelly.” I studied Novasdaughter and saw how tired she looked. Her uniform was impeccable, though she didn’t wear the award ribbon tabs I knew she had earned during her time serving the Union and the Wallach-Xad fleet.

“I’m glad you’re still alive, Reaper,” Novasdaughter said. “I assigned one of my ensigns to keep track of you if possible, suspecting you might dash ahead of my battle plan on some sort of private attack mission.”

I twisted in my chair, fixing Elise with my stare. Then I turned back to the holo. “We managed to stay in formation. The temptation to go berserk was there, I’m not going to lie.”

Novasdaughter laughed. “What’s on your mind?”

“We need to follow up on something. Head down to the planet,” I said.

“Please tell me you found a way out of this mess.” The responsibility of command weighed on her. “What do you need from me and my people?”

“Just send these Alon asshats back to where they came from.” I decided not to bring up the Black Phoenix because I still had no idea what it was, how to find it, or a way to use it when we finally snatched it up. The mystery device sounded like a ship, but no vessel large enough to defeat the Alon Grand Fleet—if there was such a thing—appeared anywhere in the system. It had to be something smaller, and I had to admit Elise was right. In private. Not out loud. I’d never hear the end of it.

We needed something to get out of this mess.

Novasdaughter laughed. “I’ll get right on that, Reaper. Say hello to Rejon and Coronas when you see them. So far, I’ve had no trouble adjusting my orders to their intent—for all the good it will do us.”

“Will do.” I signed off and directed Jelly to take us to Wallach-Xad headquarters on the surface of the Yansden planet. X-37 recommended I get some sleep, so I did—right in my Captain’s chair.

The moment before I went under, I knew it would be a deep, hard sleep. So it surprised me when I dreamed of the Blue Sphere Maximum-security Prison and how far I’d come since then. I remembered Elise running across the surface of the doomed space station and didn’t recognize her at first. She seemed so young.

I thought about the diner where I met Tom, and Roxo III where I picked up Henshaw and Path. In my head it was a regular walk down memory lane without all the pain and suffering we’d endured when each of these misadventures had happened.

X-37 said something that I ignored. There was a taste in my mouth I couldn’t identify and my body ached.

“You really shouldn’t sleep in a chair, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said. “Recommendation: get up and move around before you have your meeting with President Coronas and Rejon of Xad. Your current condition does not inspire confidence.”

Shaking off sleep, I realized I looked like a vagabond instead of a Reaper. “I need to bathe, maybe shave or something.”

“I’ve been suggesting this course of action for approximately one half an hour,” X-37 said. “Your responses were unintelligible, and the situation was not dire enough for me to wake you against your will, per your earlier instructions to never rouse you unless the ship was exploding or something of equal direness.”

“Thanks, I think.” Standing from the chair after sitting for so long in one place made me feel the years of abuse. Age wasn’t a metric I thought about much or liked to admit was a factor, but it was. Once I got warmed up, I felt like I was twenty and ready to kick ass.

Sure I did.

“I’m receiving a communication from President Coronas,” Jelly advised.

No one else was on the bridge. My crew had seen fit to sleep in actual beds during the flight back to the planet.

“Okay, put her on the holo.” I drove my fingers through my short-cropped hair, then opened and closed my mouth as wide as I could several times to wake myself up. The president caught the last part of this ritual, but barely let a smile show.

“Good morning, Halek Cain,” she said. “Looks like I’m not the only one pulling triple shifts.”

Looking her over, I thought she was much more put together than I was. The Wallach-Xad insignia had been finalized after numerous iterations. Her utilitarian jumpsuit maintained nearly formal appearance—a trick most likely taught to her by her fleet officers.

Fatigue had drawn lines around her eyes, but it wasn’t a bad thing. I’d always thought she looked strong and intelligent. “It’s good to see you, President.”

She nodded, then waved away formalities. “This is the worst situation we’ve faced since leaving Wallach. You always come through when times are tough. What’s the plan, Reaper?”

“You’re looking to me for a solution? That’s hilarious.” I took a seat in my chair because pacing was awkward when trying to speak to somebody in a holo. “I wish I could tell you there is a simple way out of this mess.”

“Some of my advisors have advocated for total surrender to the Alon,” she said. “What are your thoughts, Reaper?”

I shook my head. “Won’t work. They’re going to take what they want and punish us for our mere existence. Tell your advisors not to expect fair treatment if they surrender.”

She went pale but said nothing.

“Brion Rejon of Xad is requesting to join the conference,” Jelly advised. “I assumed you would welcome him in and have opened the link to him.”

“Thanks, Jelly.” I rolled out a kink in my neck.

Rejon appeared in the holo display. The man was simple, not intimidating, and little had changed since we first met. He didn’t smile but had a welcoming demeanor about him when we faced each other. “Good to see you again, Halek Cain.”

“Likewise, Rejon. What do you think about our chances this time?” I asked.

His gaze wandered off screen, probably toward his own bridge, then back to our conversation. “As a tenth-generation scavenger, I have to say this is a rich system. The planet has unbelievable resources. The farmlands I visited since arriving could be more than they are with scientific cultivation but are already beyond anything my people have ever imagined. And most of the planet is untouched.”

I waited, as did President Coronas.

Rejon continued. “This place is too good to be true. The return of the Alon is proof. The moment you made it safe from the Neverseen swarms, they came running back to steal everything.”

Doubts filled me but this wasn’t the time to speculate on where the Neverseen creatures had fled. A few who hadn’t yet been driven crazy by the pull of the energy field slunk back into the city, shunning violence, but I couldn’t say the danger had completely passed.

“Rejon and I have discussed the ultimate, and inevitable, conclusion of this conflict in private,” Coronas said. “You’re the only person who has heard our conclusions. We are outnumbered, outgunned, and facing a technologically advanced civilization that continues to surprise us. For example, we thought we had a good idea of their numerical superiority, but it seems we weren’t even close to understanding what we face.”

I waited for the hammer to fall, knowing what she was going to say but wanting to hear her version of the inevitable. It was clear that she and Rejon had come to an agreement on the odds and they were comfortable speaking for each other, at least to an easy audience like me.

“We cannot win, and we cannot escape. I sent several stealth ships to find a way to the slip tunnel junction, but it’s too well guarded. We have no choice but to surrender, and we know surrender will not guarantee safety for any of our people,” Coronas finished.

“You know about the supposed super-weapon hidden in the ruins on Yansden,” I said, uncomfortable at naming it the Black Phoenix. My friends needed hope. This was a real all-is-lost moment. But giving too much hope might lead them in the wrong direction and that wouldn’t help anyone.

“Of course. And I sent several teams to explore ruins as they are detected from orbit. The results have been underwhelming. We don’t have time for archeology unless it produces results.” She paused. “I can tell you don’t believe that is the answer.”

“Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. We won’t know until we find whatever it is that Victon was talking about. Maybe it’s a way to escape the system. Or it could be some piece of technology we can barter with; I really don’t know. I’m going to take my team and look for it, but I don’t want you to think I’m coming back with an army or a weapon that can wipe out the Alon Grand Fleet,” I said.

Coronas crossed her arms and looked down for a second. Rejon stared toward something offscreen, his expression thoughtful.

“There’s one other option we might think about,” I said. “Envoy and Coranth worked with us to find the spaceport shutdown stations. Point is, I learned a lot about them and their people. They aren’t as unified as we assumed. I think we might be able to get some or all of them to help us stop the Alon from sacking Yansden.”

“And why do you think that?” Rejon asked. “They fought against us during the Alon betrayal.”

“Because Envoy and Coranth were here working together, even though I don’t think they like each other, to find this secret weapon or thing or whatever. Some of them want to wipe out humanity, some of them don’t—or we better hope that is the case,” I said. “If anyone can stop the Alon, it’s the Sansein. I don’t like it any more than you do, but it may be our only chance to buy some time.”

Coronas and Rejon exchanged a glance then seemed to agree on something. Coronas spoke. “You have our full support. I can’t forget what the Sansein or the Alon did to us. We can make a deal with one or the other to stay alive, but we must find a bastion of safety for our people and start making our own rules. We haven’t come so far just to bow to another cruel master.”

“Agreed,” I said. “I’ll try to keep you informed, but communications have been tricky on the planet. Better now, but I’m just saying if you don’t hear from me, don’t assume we’ve given up.”

“Of course,” Coronas said. “Good luck.”

Both of my visitors signed off. I went to the observation deck to think things through with a cigar, a glass of whiskey, and a book of really bad jokes. There wasn’t much time, but this was going to be my last break for a while. Impatience killed. I’d been taught this lesson a long time ago. That didn’t change how I felt.

The more I wanted to rush forward, the more obstacles would be thrown in my way. It was like the universe was laughing at all of us, testing us to see how much we could take before we broke.

I was looking at the bottom of my glass, waiting for Jelly to tell me she had contacted either Envoy or Coranth, when the bad news came.

“I cannot establish communications with either of the Sansein friendly to us,” Jelly said. “It is also my responsibility to advise you of an increased Sansein presence in the system.”

“Can we communicate with them?” I asked.

“No,” Jelly said. “This is impossible, especially with the Alon jamming every signal they can. We must also prepare for the worst-case scenario of the Sansein and Alon having formed an alliance against us.”

“Stick to the plan, Reaper Cain, and please refrain from drawing conclusions on insufficient evidence,” X-37 said. “Contact Envoy. There is an eighteen percent chance he will assist us in negotiating with his people even if our enemies have already joined forces.”

The idea of an Alon/Sansein alliance was more than I could stomach. Watching the three-dimensional grid map of the system, I had doubts. “We’re really screwed if this is what it looks like. Someone please convince me there is one tiny iota of hope.”

“We haven’t seen their ships leaving the slip tunnel simultaneously, which leaves a slim possibility that they are not working together,” Jelly said. “I reached out to the AI of the Nightmare, Mavis, and she believes that the Sansein simply go where they want and that we should not assume the worst without more data.”

“What do you think, Jelly?” I savored the cigar, knowing it was time to be done with it.

“I think we are in big trouble and you should prepare for your mission to the planet,” Jelly said.

“Now you sound like X-37.” I stood up, put out my cigar, and headed for the training room while sending a message to Elise to meet me there.

“I do concur with Jelly’s assessment,” X-37 said.

“Keep trying to reach Envoy or Coranth.” I entered the hallway and focused my attention on getting to work. “We need them to speak on our behalf before their friends mark us as enemies.”

6

One thing I learned in spec ops was the importance of continuous training. Even right before deployment, there were scenarios that needed to be run through, skills to refresh, and basics to be re-mastered. Elise knew this. She was more interested in training than I was, so it surprised me she wasn’t here before me.

“Where is she, X?”

“She was checking on battlefield statistics when I sent her the request to meet you in the training room,” X-37 said. “Since then she has performed several other tasks on the way to your current location, including a brief conversation with Tom in the Archangel armory, then checking on Path who seems to be actually sleeping in his room, and she stopped to fix a door that has been malfunctioning near the foredeck for some time.”

“She needs to focus,” I said.

“Maybe a Reaper should worry more about himself,” X-37 said. “And less about Elise fixing problems.”

“Don’t push your luck, X.”

“Why did the Reaper cross the road, Reaper Cain?”

“To kill someone,” I answered without thinking.

My LAI paused. “Correct. Perhaps that wasn’t the best joke in Tom’s book.”

With exaggerated movements, I removed my jacket and hung it near the door then patted the tablet book where it was nestled next to the Reaper mask. There might be a use for the questionable reading material if I could get close enough to Loren Jacem. “Let’s just leave it right there and pretend I never want to read from it again. And set a reminder for me to give it back to Tom.”

“Of course,” X-37 said. “I have, in fact, reminded you eleven times.”

Instead of responding, I warmed up and stretched out, wondering why I wasn’t annoyed with my LAI. This ordeal was trying everyone’s patience and pushing us into new modes of behavior. Which made me wonder when the last update had been to X37’s software. The suggestion to seek upgrades was on the tip of my tongue but something caused me to hold back. Where exactly would I get modifications to my limited artificial intelligence now that we were far beyond the infrastructure of the Union?

“Can Tom or Henshaw upgrade your software?” I asked.

“That is an interesting question, and one that I have pondered many times,” X-37 said. “It is possible. Why do you ask?”

“You need a boost. The rest of the team has been training their asses off. What are you doing, X?”

“If I had emotions, that would hurt my feelings, Reaper Cain.”

“I’m just pulling your chain, X. I know you are a limited artificial intelligence. I don’t want to push you too far.”

“The limitations are in the host,” X-37 said.

“No need to get ugly, X.”

“I was stating a fact. I am more powerful than many limited artificial intelligences because you can withstand a higher neural load. Bioelectric pulses from your nervous system provide one hundred percent of my power,” X-37 said.

“Really? So your limitations are my fault. Maybe you should do some research on blaming others,” I said.

“I just did.”

“Show off.”

X-37 displayed a set of features, like a shopping list of what he wanted from an upgrade. I scrolled through it. “I’ll get right on that.”

“I’ll mark that as a vague promise that will probably never happen,” X-37 said.

“I do have emotions, and that did hurt my feelings, X.”

“Truly?”

“No, X. I’m good.”

“What else is bothering you, Reaper Cain?” X-37 asked.

“I’m just wondering where the kid is.”

Elise answered as she walked in the door, apparently having heard the last part of my statement. “You might want to be more specific, since you seem to call everyone a kid.”

“You’re the kid,” I said, despite the fact that she was more adult now than half the people I had gone to basic training with years ago.

She stared me down, probably resisting the need to deny the implication. “Are you ready for some training before we deploy to the planet?”

“You read my mind,” I said. “We don’t need to focus on fighting this time. Refreshing our survival skills, specifically climbing and spelunking, will be more important.”

“I was hoping there wouldn’t be any more of that,” Elise said. “To be honest, if I never see another ladder in my life it will be too soon. I didn’t think I was claustrophobic until we went down that hole.”

“We will be exploring parts of Yansden no one has seen for a thousand years, if we can get there before the Alon crush the Wallach-Xad coalition and bring their ancestors the Kalon of Yansden back under their rule,” I said. “It’s fair to assume there is going to be some climbing involved, or anything else that might be a danger in the wilderness.”

I motioned her toward a table at the edge of the training area that we normally used to work on equipment. X-37 pulled up a holo and began to educate us about the interior of the continent where we believe the ruins were located. It was obvious we had some mountaineering ahead of us.

“Jelly says she has a climbing simulation available,” X-37 said. “It’s fairly simplistic and dated.”

“It’ll do.” I examined the parameters of the program.

Neither of us talked much as we familiarized ourselves with equipment that would’ve been really useful during our last mission. I thought about inviting Path and Tom, but the first was still sleeping and the second was working on the shield generator for the ship.

“If you’re ready, we can begin the simulation,” Jelly advised. “I will turn over operation of the training room to X-37. It seems that I have extensive software upgrades and battle plans to synchronize with the rest of the Wallach-Xad fleet before the impending conflict begins.”

“Thanks, Jelly.” I strapped into the training gear and approached a section of wall. Standing normally, it wasn’t that tall, so it was easy to reorient our gravity generators to make it seem the length of the wall was the height. “X, let’s get going.”

Elise and I went around the room attaching training handholds and increasingly difficult surprises. Moments later, X-37 warned us he had adjusted the gravity calibration, and suddenly the wall near the main exit became the floor and everything else was up.

“After you, Reaper,” Elise said.

I started off carefully, concentrating on the basics of climbing technique. Elise followed, and soon pulled alongside me so we could talk as we worked.

“We really need this weapon,” she said during one of our breaks.

After clipping into a safety line and leaning back, I shook my right hand until I could feel it again. “Victon told me this planet had a weapon only their greatest champion could use, but I think his information was based on legend and lore thousands of years old. He was a warrior, so he wanted the solution to be a weapon.”

Elise climbed up to the next logical place to stop and look down at me. “It’s nice how your theories are always backed up by your imaginary facts. I’ve got two words for you: Black Phoenix.”

“Can you talk to her, X? She’s really stuck on this Phoenix thing.” I made my way up the training wall. “Nothing we’ve learned proves it is a weapon or even a ship.”

“Is that a serious inquiry, Reaper Cain?” X-37 asked. “You haven’t even told her about your conversation with Loren Jacem at the warehouse.”

“Yeah, X. That’s why I asked.”

Elise interjected before my LAI could act as a go-between. “If it’s not a weapon or a ship—or better yet both—we might as well just give up and sue for peace.”

“Battles are won by more than just weaponry and numbers,” I said. “Choosing the battlefield is just as important. Not having to fight at all because we escaped would be even better, you have to admit.”

“I like to make plans based on reality,” Elise said. “Have you been keeping up on current events?”

“Loren’s tablet is a star map. If we can find the rest of it, and maybe a method to get there, it wouldn’t matter how many Alon come to the system,” I said, refining my plan to steal the tablet from the man.

“There is no way out of the system, Reaper. The Alon control the slip tunnel access,” Elise insisted.

“The solution to every problem isn’t a hammer,” I said.

“Says the guy who was made for violence. Victon told you there was a superweapon in the system. That Alon squadron leader demanded you turn over the Black Phoenix. How can we still be arguing about this?” Elise paused to shake out one hand at the time, which made her look even more frustrated.

I adjusted my position on the climbing wall and waited for her to continue.

“It has to be more than a weapon this time, Elise,” I said, wishing she was right, or better yet, wishing neither the Alon nor the Sansein were in this system threatening to slaughter everyone I cared about. “We escape this mess, find the planet Maglan or whatever they call it, and we’ll be safe.”

“How, Reaper? How will we be safe?” Elise crossed her arms and stared me down like she thought I was wrong or something. Very subtle.

“I don’t know that part.”

“It will just be another planet,” she said. “We still won’t have a big enough fleet or a superweapon to defend ourselves. This promised superweapon better be a weapon or we’re in big trouble.”

We climbed in silence for a while longer, then returned to the training floor to prepare for any other eventuality we might face on our next mission. By the time I went to my quarters, I was exhausted and didn’t want to talk to anyone.

“You have a communication request from the planet,” X-37 said. “Jelly warned me it is an unauthorized, back channel signal—something she normally blocks for security reasons. It could be a cyber attack.”

“Could it be from Melina’s compound? That sounds like something outlaws would use,” I said.

“Confirmed, Reaper Cain. Excellent guess,” X-37 said. “I believe it is Tatiana.”

The connection proved stronger than I expected but there was a delay of several seconds, the mark of older technology few people thought to guard against.

“Are you there, Cain?” Tatiana asked. “I can barely see you. The view screen keeps resetting and won’t focus.”

“I’m here, Tatiana. Can’t see you at all but it’s good to hear your voice,” I said, relaxing like I’d already had a shower and a beer.

“Is it?” Her tone sounded different, almost shy but also flirtatious. “Never mind that. I’m on official business.”

“What’s wrong? Are the Kalon Regulars harassing the compound again?” I wondered if Loren thought they might be hiding the device he was searching for.

“They’ve stayed away, but things are bad here. I’m hearing talk of an invasion and don’t think we’re ready,” she said.

“No one’s ready for what is coming.” I looked at my hands, wishing I could do more for her and her people.

“We need your help, Cain. Even my brothers think you can make the difference. We need someone like you to organize our defenses—give the younger fighters someone to look up to.” She sounded a lot like the woman I first met—tough and independent.

“No one has ever called me a role model,” I said. “I’ll do what I can, but there are some other things I need to handle first.”

“Okay, Cain. Just come when you can. We need you here. Our compound, and all the others like it, will suffer worse than the rest of Yansden.”

“I’ll come first chance I get. Keep me informed. Maybe I can rally some extra help from the Wallach or Xad forces,” I said.

“We’ll need it, Cain. Take care of yourself. I’ll see you when you get here.” She signed off.

I stared at the small screen for a long time then ran scenarios in my head until I faced the facts. Yansden was screwed.

* * *

The entire crew was with me on the bridge as the Jellybird cut down through the atmosphere. Kilometers below, Yansden appeared much different. Maybe it was the way I looked at it, or maybe I was seeing the place for what it was—the worst kind of trap.

The world was amazingly rich with resources. Centuries of mining, farming, and other resource gathering had barely made a dent in what was available. Away from the cities, the planet was nothing but dense wilderness—forests, rugged mountains, and deserts that stretched around salt flats. These last areas had a few Wallach ships parked there, but it hadn’t become a popular place and I wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was just too far from the rest of the shipyards.

We neared the coast and I spotted hundreds of civilian ships parked near the spaceport where we had nearly died. There’d been fewer and fewer sightings of the Neverseen since we defeated the Neverseen Lords guarding the power stations. I hoped it stayed that way.

“What are you thinking about, Reaper?” Elise asked.

“Just soaking it all in,” I said. “And running scenarios. Wondering where all the Neverseen went.”

“You’re always running a scenario. What is it this time, the return of the Neverseen? A full-scale invasion of the Alon? Discovery of the superweapon Victon promised?” she asked rapid-fire.

“Yeah, that’s exactly it.” After Tatiana’s call, I began to doubt myself about the star map and what Loren had been looking for the last time I talked to him. That didn’t mean I was going to admit it.

“We’ve been cleared for landing,” Jelly advised. “The spaceport is extremely busy repairing the Wallach-Xad civilian ships.”

I knew that most of the military vessels capable of planetary landing needed attention as well but there wasn’t much time for that. Thoughts of how few would survive the coming onslaught worried me. The mood was tense. No one talked much despite Elise’s attempt to start a conversation. Normally, we could harass each other and laugh about it no matter how bad things got.

“I’d like to land manually, if that’s possible, Jelly.” Elise sat up straighter.

“Of course, Elise,” Jelly said. “The conditions are ideal for a standard approach and touchdown.”

“Thank you, Jelly. I have the controls.” Elise sounded like a flight cadet straight out of the academy. “How’s my glide path?”

“Your path is excellent.” Jelly listed several coordinates, with the Jellybird being central to the display. “Traffic control is quite a thorny situation. I don’t believe they have seen this much activity for hundreds of years.”

I watched, amazed at all the things Elise was good at—wondering if it was part of the Union research. She healed so quickly it sometimes freaked me out, but there hadn’t been any problems or big reveals—unless her endless energy and ability to learn faster than normal was part of the experimental program.

“Jellybird for tower control, we’re on our final approach,” Elise said in response to the local air traffic controller.

“Looking good, Jellybird,” a man said. “You’ll have limited time in the maintenance hangar when you get here. Demand is high.”

“Thank you, Control.” Elise put the ship down exactly on the hash marks.

“That was good, Elise,” Tom said.

“Thank you.” She looked at me, a faint shadow of her characteristic snark showing now.

I held a smile in check. “It was okay, kid.”

“High praise from the last Reaper,” she said.

“Let’s get refueled, make sure we have enough supplies for our expedition, and get to work,” I said. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I feel a sense of urgency.”

My crew laughed.

“That’s putting it mildly.” Elise unhooked from her piloting chair and headed for the door.

“Awk.” It was a challenge for Briggs to add words that made any sense.

I pretended not to notice his struggle, hoping that made it easier for him. There were moments when he was as lucid as he had been during our confrontation in the warden’s office on the Blue Sphere Maximum-security Prison. But more and more often, I barely recognized the man inside the monster.

We all had work to do, and we set about it with a sense of urgency. The quicker we could get the Jellybird headed for the ruins, the better. I went to check with the fuel depot supervisor and quickly realized something was happening above the planet.

Understanding I didn’t have time for this, I nevertheless stepped away from the fueling station to stare at the giant screen at one end of the hangar. The area was full of locals, but also people of Wallach and Xad. Elise, Path, and Tom joined me. Briggs hung back near the ship, covered in his tarp-like cloak that he wore whenever he went out in public.

A narrator described the conflict between Alon ships and the main Wallach-Xad force.

“They seem like they’re a lot closer to the planet than I thought they would be,” Elise said. “Or am I reading the coordinates wrong?”

“You’re not wrong,” I said softly. “They’re practically above the planet. I can’t get my head around how fast this situation is deteriorating.”

Elise and I moved into action, but Tom grabbed my arm. “Hold on a second, Hal. Looks like our side is doing something.”

The ship formations coalesced, creating a three-dimensional battle line that gave me a sick feeling.

“X, can you give us more information?” I asked.

“Of course, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said. “Captain Novasdaughter has incrementally fallen back from the slip tunnels and is now assisting the Xad capital ships. Most of the fighting has been done by Wallach warships, but as you recall, Xad can incapacitate even the largest vessel under the right circumstances.”

I thought briefly about the debris fields of the Xad system and how they had once defeated the Alon with a giant paralyzer beam that took five ships working together to initiate.

“Novasdaughter is forming a screen,” Elise said. “She’s hiding whatever the Xad ships are doing.”

“Good eye, kid,” I said.

A hush went over the crowd. I thought it was risky displaying so much on this public screen. It meant there was a broadcast signal out there that the Alon might pick up on. There was nothing I could do about it and it wasn’t my decision in the first place, so I watched.

“If this works, it should make our mission less urgent,” Tom said. “We might even ask for help from the locals.”

I started walking toward the refueling station, still glancing at the screen but thoroughly jolted from my passivity by my friend’s casual words. Elise was a bit slower but had the same idea.

“I’ll go with Tom and make sure everything’s good on the inside of the ship,” Elise said.

“It shouldn’t take me long to double check the fuel lines.” I noticed the damage that Jellybird had taken during our skirmish with Tobias and his goons.

Five of the Xad ships flared rings of energy ahead of them, then shot glowing beams toward a centralized point. Even though I was in a desperate hurry, I froze in my tracks and stared at the screen.

Five beams became one and reached through the void in search of a target.

There were hundreds of people in the hangar. No one moved. A surreal sense of anticipation filled the place.

Alon fighters swarmed toward the five ships, working around gaps in the flank. Wallach and Xad fighters defended valiantly. For a moment, there was so much chaos it was hard to see what was happening. The only constants were the five Xad ships firing the paralyzer beam.

7

The paralyzer beams streaked across the display, hitting one of the largest ships in the Alon Grand Fleet. The weapon was only designed to immobilize one enemy at a time, but the effect threw our enemies into chaos.

The Spirit of Wallach emerged from stealth mode, immediately deploying squadrons of micro-fighters as she fired her main guns. The Nightmare did likewise but without the surprise advantage. Micro-fighters attacked like a swarm of deadly insects, ravaging their immobilized prey.

The affected Alon warships couldn’t open launch bays or fire point defense guns—allowing Wallach-Xad attack groups to launch bombing runs. Each micro-fighter could drop one munition before engaging Alon fighters coming from other non-paralyzed ships.

The destruction was mesmerizing. Despite the massive advantage in numbers the Alon possessed, their assault faltered. Several of their battle groups drew back defensively.

I took a refueling hose from a worker who was staring in amazement at the screen and did the work myself. Elise and the others ran for the ship. The Jellybird had emptied her reserves during the last several engagements and it took time to top her off. From time to time, I checked on the progress of the battle. There were segments of it so close to the planet now, they could be seen in the upper atmosphere.

“I’ve never seen anything go well when a space battle gets this close to a planet,” I said.

“Nor have I, reaper Cain,” X-37 agreed.

The paralyzer ships recharged and fired again, disabling a second Alon supercarrier. Everyone in the hangar cheered. Even the locals were ecstatic—probably considering for the first time that they might have chosen the winning team.

“How’s it going out there, Reaper?” Elise asked in my ear.

“People are excited,” I said. “I don’t think anyone expected to win.”

“You think we’re going to win? Jelly is showing us a slightly different picture of the larger battlespace.”

I hesitated. “No. But that’s what it looks like to the uninitiated.”

“Even if we kick their asses out of the system, there are a lot of Sansein ships lurking about according to Jelly.” Elise sounded serious, possibly worried, but not panicking when I thought we should be. “And with the exception of Envoy, and maybe Coranth, they don’t like us much.”

“It looks like the refueling crews are getting back to work. Their supervisor is shouting at them and pointing for them to do their jobs,” I said. “As soon as I verify they know what they’re doing, I’m coming inside.”

“Okay, Reaper.”

A boy dodged through the crowd, heading right for me. I recognized him from my first day on the planet.

“Where’s the fire, Manager?” I went forward to meet him—for the sake of expediency, not because I thought the crowd might rough him up for charging through them.

“Melina sent me!” he shouted as he came to a stop, out of breath and almost desperately agitated.

“Of course she did,” I said. The woman was the patriarch of Tatiana’s compound and more powerful than seemed reasonable. “What happened? Is Tatiana okay?”

“She’s good,” Manager said. “She told me to tell you hi and all that. But that’s not why I’m here. Melina says she needs your help.”

“I can’t this time, kid. There’s something I have to do. Give me the details as quick as you can and I’ll make a plan to handle it when I come back.”

He rubbed the back of his neck then stared at the ship and the fuel lines. “Where are you going?”

“To the ruins,” I said. “We need to find what Loren was looking for when we first met him at the power station.”

“Which ruins?” Manger shifted from foot to foot.

“What do you mean which ruins?” I knew immediately that we needed better information on our objective.

“How would I know?” Manager shrugged and shifted to look the way he’d come. “Just always thought there were a lot of things like that in the wilderness. Most of what I know about stuff like that comes from Melina’s stories or action vids. Have you been watching the battle? It’s freaking amazing!”

“X, how many archeological sites are there on the planet?” I followed Manager’s gaze to the most recent development on the screen. Wallach and Xad ships, especially the Nightmare, were kicking serious ass. That was what he saw. What I focused on were more and more Alon ships arriving and staging for their turn to jump in.

“There are numerous locations on each continent of this planet,” X-37 said. “I can scour local databases, but it will be slow due to the poor integration between our version of computer operating systems and theirs. The demand of combat control is also taxing the digital infrastructure of Yansden.”

“Okay, work on it,” I said. “Elise, there’s a bit of a snag.”

“You don’t know where to go,” she said.

This was going to suck, I thought, not wanting to admit my destination was vague at best. “Have you been spying?”

Her tone sounded annoyed but ready for solutions rather than arguments. “No, I asked Jelly where we were headed, and she said you hadn’t provided a destination.”

“We’ll start from one of the power shutoff stations in the wilderness and go from there,” I said. “I have Manager here. Melina needs something, and she might have information we can use.”

“What about Loren?” Elise asked.

“If he knew where to go, he’d already be there.”

“Do we really have time for the compound?” Elise’s tone felt like an accusation that I was just looking for a reason to check on Tatiana.

“We don’t have time for anything.” I signed off on the fueling technician’s work and headed toward the Jellybird’s ramp.

“Jelly, any luck reaching Envoy or Coranth?” I asked. “I promised Coronas and Rejon I would talk to them; maybe even implied I could keep them from joining the Alon and help fight them.”

“A worthy goal, Captain. Unfortunately, Envoy and Coranth have landed their ships deep within the continent,” Jelly said. “X-37 and I believe they are also seeking the ruins, perhaps for the same reason we wish to go there. Unfortunately, their ships sent multiple signals, each showing a different—very random—landing zone. They may be nearly as clueless as we are.”

Something struck outside the shipyard, the force causing the ground to jump several inches. Yansdenians looked around, eyes naked with fear. The people of Wallach and Xad didn’t fare much better despite being more experienced.

“What the hell was that, X?”

“The Alon forces have been battered by the strenuous resistance of the Wallach-Xad fleet but have launched a counter offensive including a planetary assault. What you felt, according to news feeds and planet wide tactical networks, is the first round of the Alon pre-invasion bombardment,” X-37 said.

“That’s what Melina wanted to tell you! We caught some scouts, thought they might be from the people you brought here,” Manager said.

“I didn’t bring them.” I hesitated at the ramp of the Jellybird, already knowing what I had to do.

“She thinks they’re going to attack the compound in force,” Manager said.

“Why would they do that?” I wasn’t sure if my question was for the kid or for my LAI.

Manager answered. “It’s one of the only places the Regulars don’t go. Jacem’s brutes don’t patrol our territory so it looks like a weak point to the invaders. At least that’s what she says. And my brother and sister agree. Did I tell you Tatiana said hi? Because she told me I had to tell you.”

“You did.” A formation of small ships streaking over building tops distracted me. “X, warn CSL Locke and the others. It looks like the Alon are dropping shock troops.”

The ships swooped down, disappearing behind the buildings between us and the compound area. Moments later, they lifted into the air and sped away as small arms fire peppered them. Battle sounds filled the street.

“Are you coming, Reaper?” Manager demanded, already backing away from my ship, about to run home no matter the risk.

“Get on the ship. It’ll be faster.” I grabbed him by the arm and dragged him inside before he could agree or protest. “Jelly, we need to get to the compound. Melina sent a runner asking for our help.”

“Right away, Captain,” Jelly said.

Elise met me in the hallway. “What the hell are you doing, Reaper? We need to get the Black Phoenix.”

I looked at Manager. Elise followed my gaze, softening but not looking happy about the delay.

“It won’t take long,” I said.

“It won’t take long?” Elise practically shouted, then pointed through the wall. “That’s a full-scale invasion!”

“Elise is correct,” X-37 said. “News feeds are showing similar attacks on every functioning city on the planet.”

I strode toward the armory.

“Some cities were abandoned before our arrival due to damage from the initial incident, and others were overrun with Neverseen, animals, and outlaws.

Elise and Manager followed me, both staring holes in the back of my head. “Tom, start working on where Envoy and Coranth are searching. The second we know which ruins they’re heading for, we’re leaving. We have to beat them.”

“They have a considerable lead, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said.

“And they will probably get even farther ahead of us but we’re still going to assist Melina’s people,” I said. “Are you going to help or just shout at me?”

“I’m going to help, Reaper. I trust you. And you trust me to speak my mind. Not everyone has to agree with everything you say.” Her eyes teared up.

“It’s a shitty situation. Welcome to my world.” I knew better than anyone that the surest way to get everyone killed was to try and save everyone at the same time.

8

The Jellybird flew low over the city, avoiding military craft and civilians with equal ease. We were getting good at this. Some ships attacked or defended, and others fled. On the ground, chaos ruled. As confident as I was, I also knew change was the rule rather than the exception. Nothing about Yansden would get easier.

Elise—arms crossed—studied the holo display. “It’s a mess down there.”

“You’ve never been part of an invasion,” I said. “This will get worse before it gets better.”

Path shifted uncomfortably, something I hadn’t seen since I met the sword saint. Back in his dimly lit corner, Briggs abandoned his chair to squat on his haunches and squeezed his hands into fists. Tom worked diligently and Manager gazed at my friends with wide eyed concern.

“Reaper,” Elise whispered.

I turned her way, nervous about what her lowered tone meant.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you. I want to help Melina’s people too.” Her emotions reflected mine, I thought.

“We’ll get this done, find the Black Phoenix, and force the Alon to negotiate,” I said. “That’s our best chance. Whatever this thing is, you know it can’t stop this invasion.”

“But maybe we can hurt them enough to make a deal?” she asked.

“Something like that.” For no reason I understood, I leaned toward her so we could bump fists.

From the air, it was easy to see the mistakes ground commanders were making. I locked my jaw as I watched a group of Kalon Regulars come around a corner ready to open fire, only to face a squad of Wallach soldiers who had been sent to help. About the time they figured out what was happening and avoided a tragedy, they were all flanked by Alon shock troopers.

The invaders rushed forward on foot, pausing at each point of cover to fire shoulder mounted rockets at the defenders. It looked like they only carried rifles and sidearms as backups. Their primary weapons, small rockets, fired more rapidly than others I’d seen. Each weapon had a magazine of the compact missiles.

“What the hell are they doing?” Elise demanded, clearly wanting to get into the fight.

“It’s the fog of war. Chaos and confusion,” I said. “We need to gear up. It’s time for our Archangel armor.”

“I thought you’d never give the order.” She was through the door, with Path and Briggs a second later. “We should probably just live in this stuff as much as we use it.”

“Captain,” Jelly said. “We’re taking rocket fire from one of the rooftops and there is a squadron of Alon fighters en route to intercept us. I’ll need to gain altitude to evade these threats.”

Stepping into my Archangel armor, I looked frantically at my friends performing their pre-combat inspections. “Can you set us down first?”

“You will have to jump, Captain,” Jelly said. “My apologies for not providing a better option.”

“Not your fault.” I then held up one finger and whipped it around in a circle to get my squad’s attention. When I had it, I pointed toward the ramp. “We need to jump.”

“You first,” Elise said, but I knew she was more than willing to take the lead.

My helmet showed more evidence of the chaotic situation above and below the city the moment my armor was sealed and my cybernetic eye synchronized with the HUD in my helmet.

Things were happening fast now, like someone had pulled the fire alarm in a fuel depot; there just wasn’t time to obsess over small details. None of what I saw gave me a happy feeling, but I had gone into combat with no equipment checks—more than once. Sometimes the Reaper just had to make it work.

“You should take the chain gun,” X-37 prompted.

“Good call.” I grabbed the updated weapon. Tom had made so many improvements that we renamed it the HDK Fury—which was a lot better than calling it my big ass gun.

“I wish I had a Fury,” Elise said.

“We’re working on it.” I locked the heavy weapon and its ammunition box to my back. “On me.” I said, realizing Briggs still intended to jump with us. “Can you do this?”

“Awk. Awk!” Briggs grunted. “We’re less than twenty feet off the boulevard. I’ll live. But if you could get me some armor that fits, next time will be easier. Awking, awk!”

The ramp opened. Warning lights and buzzers encouraged us to stay back ten feet and threatened to report us to the safety officer when we ignored the advice. “Jelly, your deployment ramp is giving me a hard time.”

“Just ignore it, Captain. It’s an old recording I never thought to remove,” Jelly said. “If you’re going to jump, Captain, now is the time.”

“Let’s get after it!” I leapt into the air, bracing for impact, and rolled as soon as my boots touched the ground.

The sensation felt like… like jumping out of a ship and rolling across concrete. When I was done getting battered, I came to my feet, aimed my HDK Dominator back the way we had come, and growled something primal. The HDK Fury and ammunition box felt reassuringly heavy on the back of my armor.

“We’re in it now, Reaper!” Elise shouted, bounding to her feet, ready to fight.

I checked the rest of my surroundings, unsure from which direction an attack might come.

Path and Elise were farther up the street doing the same thing. I didn’t see Briggs.

“X, did the Slayer jump?” I ran to catch up.

“Jelly advises that the Slayer did leap from the ramp,” X-37 said. “He shouted ‘awk you, Cain’ and disappeared from the ships internal camera view. Jelly then closed the ramp.”

“He jumped last, so he is probably a lot closer to our objective than we are, due to the ship’s speed and direction of travel.” I motioned for Elise and Path to follow me. We needed concealment while we got our bearings.

Seconds later, a contingent of Alon soldiers jogged around the corner, weapons held at port arms as their boots hit the pavement in perfect synchronization. These were different than the shock troops I had initially seen—probably regular infantry. Like the others, their armor was dark blue, almost black with very few accent marks to denote rank or unit. Each had their helmets sealed tight and weapons ready.

“Move. Follow this alleyway.” I backed up and marveled at how much different this encounter felt from when we ran from the Neverseen monsters. I knew these adversaries would work smarter than the monsters had. They would communicate with unit leaders and set up strong points to monitor the area they had captured. I heard a vehicle’s engine but couldn’t be sure whose it was.

“What’s the Jellybird status?” I asked.

“She has climbed to six thousand meters and is attempting to avoid atmospheric attack craft,” X-37 said. “Normally I would say she’s in trouble, but pursuing her does not seem to be their main objective. Most of the aircraft returned to their strafing runs of the city almost immediately.”

“Great. Let’s try not to become a victim of the air to ground attacks.” Looking for Briggs and monitoring my HUD, I ran slightly behind Elise and slightly ahead of Path.

Elise still had her black and gray patterned Archangel exterior activated. Path had the same colors, but he’d taken the time to program complicated calligraphy across his chest, back, and upper arms. I was glad we had details to differentiate us, because my not so original design was shadow black and nothing else. Right now, size and personality were obvious identifiers, but if we found ourselves in the middle of a larger battle, the simple task of differentiating friend from foe could become impossible no matter how easy it seemed before the violence began.

“Use the stealth cloak, Reaper,” Elise said. “We can still keep track of you, at least in a general sense. Might give us an advantage when we run into trouble.”

It wasn’t a bad idea, but I didn’t feel like stopping or messing with the garment that would only cover seventy five percent of me in the Archangel get-up. Nonetheless, I asked X to check where I’d stowed my jacket in the Archangel cargo compartments.

“Your jacket, book of jokes, stealth cloak, Reaper mask, and a box of cigars are still in place. You also have a first-aid kit and extra ammunition,” X-37 said. “Did you just pick things at random this time?”

I didn’t answer. Instead, I took the lead when we turned to the right. It was natural for me to fall into this position. Elise and Path adjusted like pros.

“How much farther?” Elise asked.

“About two more blocks, I think. Closer to the sound of fighting,” I said.

The epicenter of the conflict on the ground was directly ahead of us now, and it had to be the compound defenses. I held up one fist, signaling a stop. “Someone’s moving on that rooftop.”

“I don’t see it,” Path said.

Elise leaned on the building next to me, covering a zone I wasn’t watching just like we had practiced many times. “Laser mark it, Reaper.”

I focused on the rooftop I was worried about and activated an infrared laser that only somebody with similar equipment could see. It was a risk, but one worth taking.

“Looks like Tatiana’s people,” Elise said.

“You mean Melina’s people?” I wasn’t sure why I asked the question. I wasn’t superstitious but I didn’t think I would see Melina again.

“Yeah, that’s what I meant,” Elise said.

“Looks like more their style,” I said. “Hit-and-run tactics. Ambushes rather than head-to-head fights.”

We moved away from our objective for a time, taking everything at an angle, always choosing routes with good cover and concealment over wide thoroughfares where we would be exposed. I saw more and more fighting between Yansden citizens and the Alon invaders. We were about to make the final street crossing when I spotted a familiar group of Kalon Regulars.

“That’s Loren Jacem, X. See if you can get them on the radio.” He’s in full armor, I thought. “So much for the KR only having the helmets.”

Seconds later, the man’s voice hissed in my ear. The effect of the poor connection made him sound like a ghost calling to us from the afterlife.

“What are you doing here, Reaper?” Loren asked, even though I could no longer see him or his men.

“I was going to ask you the same question,” I said. “Standing up for the underdog isn’t your style. Where’d you get that gear?”

“We’re passing through to another objective.” He ignored my question. “It’s within my authority to impress you into service. I could use you on my team right now.”

“Don’t even think about it,” I said. “And more importantly, don’t try it. If you could force me to follow your orders, you wouldn’t need me.”

“We should move closer,” Elise said. “He’s up to something.”

Path nodded, then crossed to one side of the street so that he could better cover his own in case of an attack. There was a good bit of distance between us and Loren. A few streets over, something exploded. Smoke drifted on the wind from yet another direction. High above a ship plummeted to a fiery death as it entered the atmosphere. This still wasn’t a full-scale invasion, not at all the worst I’d seen, but to people who’d never experienced this type of attack, it had to feel like the end of the world.

It took us two turns to find Loren and his platoon. Every one of them were in full armor, though I noticed the helmets were much more battered and used looking than the rest of their gear.

“Well that’s interesting,” Elise said. “I guess a planetary invasion is a special occasion or something. They’re all dressed up to play.”

“We can worry about the Kalon Regular equipment later.” I moved ahead of my people and again hailed Loren. “The compound is doing their best. We’re all on the same side. You could spare a squad to help them.”

“I thought you were smarter than that, Reaper,” he said. “Someday when you’re a leader, you’ll have to make tough decisions.”

“He’s not wrong,” X-37 said.

“I need to get close.” I strode through his perimeter like we were in fact allies. The armor appeared thicker and heavier than was optimal, probably because of an outdated design and crude materials. But I thought it was well integrated and had places for them to clip different types of weapons or ammunition magazines. It also looked like they could be environmentally sealed and continue to function if there was a gas attack.

“I can’t believe they’re letting us walk right into their formation,” Elise said.

I felt the same way but said nothing. All of my senses warned me this was a trap. The soldiers on the perimeter of this group faced out, watching their fire zones like professionals. On the inside, they looked at us warily until one finally raised a hand for us to stop.

I put away my weapons when he spoke.

“That’s close enough,” the soldier said, still a foot shorter than I was in full Archangel armor but formidable nonetheless.

“You’re not close enough to Loren if you’re going to do what I think you’re going to do,” X-37 said.

“No shit.” I showed the palms of my hands to the guard and nodded toward the two HDK variations clipped on my back now. Opening my arms wider bought a few seconds. I sidestepped, advanced, and was soon face-to-face with Loren Jacem, their commander.

The guard pursued me until Loren ordered him back with a crisp signal. Then he faced me, his displeasure obvious in the way he stood even though his closed helmet revealed nothing. “You’re making life difficult for my Regulars.”

“I make life difficult for a lot of people. We don’t really have time for niceties—and screw them if they aren’t going to help Melina’s people.”

He crossed his arms. “What about respect? You were a soldier before you became a rogue adventurer. You know what it means.”

“Now is the time, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said. “Most of the soldiers have diverted their attention to Elise and Path but that will only last seconds.”

“You’re right, Loren. I don’t know why I came here. You’re a heartless son-of-a-bitch willing to let innocent civilians die.”

He uncrossed his arms, taking a short step forward as though we were going to fight. He checked himself at the last second, shouting his arguments and talking with his hands. “You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about! You haven’t been on this planet a month!”

I chest bumped him, spreading my arms wide and giving him attitude. He shoved me back. I swept away one of his arms—and popped open his storage compartments with the other. He immediately recovered, probably wanting to avoid embarrassment in front of his men. I saw him reach into the most centralized container on his armor, and he felt for the tablet without actually looking at it.

Retreating, I held up my hands in repentance. “I’m not going to apologize, but you’re right. This isn’t helping. I just think it’s bullshit you won’t help defend the compound. I guess we’ll do it ourselves.”

“We’ve wasted enough time,” he said. “Don’t expect such a warm welcome next time you run into me and my men.”

The Kalon Regulars raised their weapons to low ready position, one step away from actual combat. Path and Elise did the same.

I stepped back, closer to my friends. “You like jokes, Loren?”

“Not even a little bit,” he said, steel in his tone.

“I was the same way. But a little light reading might make you less of a dick,” I said, and vanished with my team between the buildings.

“How did you know how to do that?” Elise asked once we’d left the KR behind.

“Most of that armor looks over-designed. The cargo pockets just have simple latches. Easy.” I searched the buildings above us for more of the compound ambush fighters but saw no one. At the end of the next street was the first section of Melina’s compound.

Elise feigned shock. “You’re a pickpocket.”

“Sometimes.”

An indistinct figure behind the chain-link gatehouse flashed a light twice. I responded with the same signal.

“Show yourself.” The voice wasn’t one I recognized.

“My name is Halek Cain. These are my friends. We’ve come to help. Manager sent us.”

“Where is he?” the voice demanded.

“On my ship. Couldn’t get him here safely, but we will once things calm down. There isn’t a lot of time. Tell Melina we’ve arrived.”

A pause followed before a new voice answered us. X-37 zoomed in my augmented vision to reveal there were three images visible as heat signatures off to one side of the main entrance. It was the best tactic they had without the gate being hardened against regular troops. The compound had been designed to keep out wandering Neverseen, not repel an invasion.

“Come inside. You’re not in a good spot. The invaders might not hide in those shadows, but there are still Neverseen out there. Don’t forget it,” the man said.

I signaled Path and Elise to spread out as much as possible during the final approach. It never hurt to be cautious and use good tactics even when contacting allies.

“Reaper Cain,” X-37 said.

“What now, X?”

“Tom is requesting a private conference,” X-37 said.

“Put him through.” I nodded to Elise, who quickly took the lead as another compound kid led us quickly through the maze of fences and guard posts.

“Are you there, Hal?” Tom asked.

“Yeah, Tom. What’s up? Why the privacy?”

“It’s your sister and Bug,” Tom said. “They’ve procured a shuttle and are heading for the planet. Do you want me to intercept them?”

“How the fuck did they do that?”

“My best guess is they took advantage of an evacuation protocol where civilians are cleared from warships if near enough a planet to be feasible.” Tom’s tone suggested there was more to this revelation—something I wouldn’t like.

“Just make sure they land in the Wallach controlled zone,” I said.

“Well, Hal, I don’t think that is where they’re going. My best guess is that they are headed to the interior of the planet—deep into the wilderness to look for the ruins,” Tom said. “I can try to intercept them, but the Jellybird isn’t made for that type of capture operation. It could be as dangerous as letting them go.”

“They’re going to get themselves killed.” I stopped walking, which alarmed Elise and Path. They stood on each side of me, ready for anything.

“Just don’t let them go off on their own,” I said. “Have you been able to zero in on Envoy and Coranth’s destination?”

“Still working on it,” he answered. “It’s been busy up here. And while we’re on the subject, the compound is about two thirds surrounded and the intensity of the fight has been increasing every time the Alon land another ship.”

“Thanks for the heads up, Tom. Stop Hannah and Bug. If you can’t pull their shuttle into the Jellybird, follow them until they set down and snatch them the minute they step outside. Keep me updated. Thanks, Tom.”

Conversation over, I motioned for us to continue, which was a huge relief to our nervous guide.

“What’s up, Reaper?” Elise asked.

“Hannah and Bug are trying to get themselves killed.” I picked up the pace, needing to find Melina and see what she wanted. “This had better not be one of her games.”

Neither Elise nor Path commented.

9

I moved to a new position, then adjusted my stealth cloak to cover as much of my armor as possible. The procedure was surprisingly difficult. I needed it to conceal me but also to be out of the way of my weapons. My efforts never produced the same result twice in a row, but it was close enough for Reaper work.

I saw why Melina wanted our help when we reached the other side of the compound. The area was full of small buildings, just at the edge of the large spaceport leading to the deactivated main tower, a needlelike structure that had been used centuries ago to facilitate ship launches.

The fighting was intense, explosions shaking walls and rockets streaking down on targets I couldn’t see behind buildings. It was evident, however, that it was a dynamic situation with the defenders running and retreating more often than not.

“Where the hell is Melina?”

My young guide looked uncomfortable. “I think she got tired of waiting for you and went herself.”

“Why the hell would she do that?” I had a bad feeling I knew the answer.

The young man, looking more and more like a kid the more I yelled at him, pointed to the worst of the violence. “Tatiana and Bracken are out there. They were pinned down the last I heard.”

“All right, let’s move,” I said. “I’ll take the lead this time. Elise, take my left flank. Path, my right. Hang back about ten meters but be ready to rush forward and hit hard from whatever cover you can find.”

“Copy that.” Elise and I coordinated our movements with Path.

We raced toward the action, spotting evidence that Tatiana and her older brother had driven back the first wave of shock troopers—which was impressive. Normally the first wave would be elite soldiers acting on good intel and with complete surprise. But I guessed it wasn’t easy to move through Melina’s territory without her knowing about it.

“Why did they attack here?” Elise asked.

“The working theory is that it looked like a soft landing zone to the Alon because there wasn’t a Kalon military presence here.” I stopped at the corner of a building, signaled a halt, and looked around the corner with my stealth cloak concealing my head and shoulders.

“Makes sense,” Elise said. “Your girlfriend really stuck it to these assholes.”

“I’m going to cross to the other side of the street,” Path said.

“Do it. Elise, cover him.”

“All day.” She sounded like a spec ops veteran. Where she had picked up the lingo, I had no idea. Maybe she was reading Tom’s adventure novels.

Artillery shells rained down on Tatiana’s position. I hadn’t seen her yet, but she had to be in the middle of this. “X, see if you can radio the defenders.”

“Right away, Reaper Cain.”

“Let’s move.” I charged toward the destruction falling on the buildings ahead of us. “There won’t be anyone to shoot at us until that stops.”

“Brilliant,” Elise quipped. “All we have to do to avoid getting shot is charge through an artillery bombardment.”

We crossed an open area, rounded the corner, and saw Tatiana’s unit arrayed behind several points of cover, basically the shells of bombed out buildings. They had two crew served weapons they were using to pin down advancing Alon units. The artillery barrage had scoured the area but done little real damage to them. They had taken cover, or moved, or whatever to survive.

“They’re pretty good at this,” Elise said as we ran forward.

“X, have you made contact?” I asked, not having time to answer with Elise—not that I thought she expected a long conversation right now.

“Making contact now, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said.

“Tatiana, can you hear me?” I saw a squad of Alon working around the left flank and opened fire, temporarily driving them back.

“I read you, Cain. Was that you shooting at those jerks on our left flank? I’m sending a squad to deal with them,” Tatiana said. “Have you seen Melina?”

“I thought she was with you. She’s the one who called us here,” I said, leading the way into the defender’s perimeter.

“I gave everyone your description and they should be expecting you. I’m toward the front. Meet me here if you can,” Tatiana said.

“I’m on my way.” With Elise and Path close behind me, I sprinted the rest of the distance, watching more and more drop ships head toward our area.

Tatiana stepped away from the hastily built trench line they had created by moving vehicles next to concrete blocks to form a barrier. “Good to see you, Cain. Can you believe this?”

She was in a good mood because they were surviving, maybe even winning. So far she and her brother had done everything right. It looked like they had turned the tables by surprising the invaders, then concentrated their forces for maximum effect. What they couldn’t see from here was how many enemies they were facing.

“No, I can’t. You’re actually alive,” I said.

Tatiana laughed and I liked the sound. “I can’t believe how many drop ships they’re sending.”

I swept my vision over the sky, making my own guess at how many more would come in and expecting X-37 to conduct a thorough analysis. “It’s going to be more. A lot more.”

“I know,” she said. For several moments, she stepped away from me and gave orders to her people. I didn’t know who had trained her, but she was a natural. On the next street over, Bracken was doing the same thing.

When she returned, I took her by one arm, careful not to be an asshole about it but wanting her full attention. “There are going to be thousands more. Before long, they’ll be putting down armored vehicles and fighting for air superiority. When that happens, you won’t be able to resist. The compound isn’t made for this type of thing.”

She stiffened. “I might not know the details, but I’m not an idiot, Cain.”

I wanted to kick myself. Not that I could’ve said anything else and been telling the truth.

“We’re used to fighting against impossible odds. But right now we are winning, and we need to feel good about it until it’s time to despair.”

“Morale is very important,” X-37 pointed out, because I could never have thought of that myself.

“Okay,” I said. “You’re right. What can I do to help?”

“Bracken has the right flank,” Tatiana said. “You’ve already seen the weakness on our left. I need you to handle it.”

“We’ll see what we can do.” I checked the numbers X-37 was putting on my HUD. “You have more fighters than I thought you would.”

“We sent out the call,” she said, and I sensed there was more to her words.

“To who, other compounds?”

She stared at my helmet, probably looking for my eyes. The effect was much the same. I’d never seen anyone so earnest. “We’ve been preparing for something like this for a long time. I always thought it would be a crackdown by someone like Loren. Maybe this is better because we’re not fighting our own people, or against our own government.”

“Civil war is terrible,” I agreed, but I was thinking about Loren and wondering what I could do to convince him to help my friends. “Getting slaughtered by invaders also sucks.”

“Get to work, Cain,” Tatiana said, slapping me on my arm.

“Right away, General.”

She laughed at my joke and went back to leading her people.

“We are moving to the left flank. It’s weak,” I said.

Elise and Path followed me as we searched for the best position to fight from.

“We still haven’t found Melina,” Elise said. “Did you tell Tatiana her grandmother came looking for her?”

“It didn’t come up. I’ll send her a message,” I said. “X, can you do some eavesdropping and see if anyone has contact with Melina?”

“I am monitoring tactical feeds now,” X-37 said. “It’s much easier to spy on them now than it was when we first arrived on this planet.”

“Good.” I covered myself with the stealth cloak as best I could, then leaned around a corner to search for enemies—immediately spotting a platoon of Alon ground forces, including an armored vehicle.

“Shit’s about to get real.” I put away the HDK Dominator in favor of the Fury.

“No need to show off,” Elise said, then peeked around her corner and saw the armored vehicle and the small army of infantry supporting it. “Oh crap. That changes things. By all means, Reaper, burn ’em down with that big ass gun.”

“I’m going to draw fire, so stay away from me and make your shots count,” I said, taking aim.

My attack took them completely by surprise. Without mercy, I mowed down their point element, blasting an Alon trooper off his feet. The next few rounds hit the tank and ricocheted. Undeterred, I held this stream of death on one point until I saw a few of them penetrate the war machine. Somehow this felt different—more desperate—than our ambush on the Alon fighter.

It still sucked. Everything about this war sucked.

“Move!” Elise shouted, then sniped two Alon soldiers who had been jogging behind the tank to use it as cover. From her angle, it was an easy shot. At the same time, Path fired from the other side, taking out an officer.

Our devastating sneak attack stunned our enemies with its ferocity and violence. They’d never seen three Archangel units attack before and had been expecting poorly armed civilians. That didn’t mean we’d won.

The armored vehicle, unfortunately, hadn’t been disabled. It turned two guns on my position and one toward Elise, spraying us with gunfire that hurt my ears even with my helmet sound filters on. The muzzle flash blinded my optics for half a second. The building disintegrated around me.

Dropping to my stomach, I rolled to my side, scrambled for a new hiding place, and finally sprinted to a new building. In fifteen seconds, we’d lost half a block to the Alon advance.

“X, what’s happening on the other fronts?” I asked, struggling to control my breathing.

“Armored cars have attacked in five places, which is problematic because there were only three defensive positions and even those are being smashed by the invaders,” X-37 said. “I’m filtering out the worst of the radio traffic. There’s a lot of screaming.”

“Elise, Path, are you alive?” I asked.

“We’re both still here, Reaper,” Elise said. “We had to fall back. I can’t see you from where I’m at—you’re just a dot in my HUD.”

“Start looking for a rally point,” I said, checking my HDK Fury, glad it didn’t need reloading. That was the thing with the way I had it set up—when it was out of ammunition it was completely out, no reload possible. But until then, it was a Reaper party.

“The Fury has not overheated. You may fire another three thousand rounds—or three minutes, if that comes first—before it requires significant time to cool,” X-37 said.

I darted along a building and eventually spotted Elise moving parallel to me. We didn’t have a lot of real estate to give up. The compound itself was in real jeopardy now and I still hadn’t located Melina. Tatiana and Braken were still making noise but I thought they must have been driven back from their improvised wall.

“Where is Loren and his Regulars?” I asked.

“I’m showing them several blocks beyond this battle, searching another building,” X-37 said.

“They’re not fighting? What the actual fuck? Tell him right now there is an invasion in progress and he needs to do his job,” I said, seeing Path now as well as Elise and feeling relieved my team was staying ahead of the armored vehicles and heavy infantry.

“I took the liberty of sending that exact message only moments ago,” X-37 said.

“Good job, X. I knew I could count on you,” I said, turning to face the tank as it rounded the corner. This time I focused all of my firepower on one of his guns, hammering the barrel before he could shoot. The other two opened fire and I was forced to move or be killed.

“Fall back, Reaper,” Elise ordered, covering me from another position with her lighter weapon. “I think you took out one of his guns. The problem I’m seeing is that there is another vehicle following about two blocks back.”

More and more Alon shuttles landed in an area no longer threatened by Melina’s people or the Kalon military.

“Reaper, this is Loren Jacem,” the leader of the KR said in my ear. “Would you please order your computer to stop broadcasting on my main channel. It’s interfering with my mission.”

“I’m going to interfere with my boot up your ass in a second,” I said. “We need some help here. I don’t know what the hell you’re looking for, but now isn’t the time.”

“You don’t know what I’m looking for,” Loren answered. “But you’re right, we need to head back to our base and prepare our own defenses.”

I downed two Alon infantrymen attempting to work around my left flank and took fire on my armor from their rockets. These two were more creative than the others and fired their rifles at the same time they launched their main weapons, which was a bit overwhelming.

“I’ve got an idea, Loren. Why don’t you get in this fight since you’re in the neighborhood? Just a suggestion,” I said. “Or maybe you’re scared.”

The last jibe had been an offhand remark, not something I expected to actually have an effect. It wasn’t long before I realized pride was definitely something that mattered to Loren Jacem.

“I don’t appreciate that insinuation,” he said.

“I don’t give a fuck what you appreciate,” I grunted as I fired another stream of death from my HDK Fury.

“You are a crass and slanderous man,” Loren said. “We are on the way to help your rebel friends but will depart once this engagement is over.”

“Fan-fucking-tastic,” I said. “Nothing like teamwork for the win.”

Loren didn’t respond, but I heard his platoon attacking the rear of the Alon invasion force. Surprised by this development, the Alon advance on the compound slowed.

“Is now a good time to complement your efforts, Reaper Cain?” X-37 asked.

“Not really. Get to the point. What do you want to tell me?” I recently learned that my computer artificial intelligence was becoming more and more unreliable about certain things—namely anything that might send me into a nonproductive rage.

“Tom has narrowed down the possible location of Envoy and Coranth to a five by five-kilometer section of the jungle,” X-37 said. “This is a sufficiently precise starting point to begin our search.”

“That would be really useful information if I wasn’t in the middle of a firefight, X.”

“Apologies, Reaper Cain.” X-37 displayed useful target updates in my HUD, then continued. “I’m unable to confirm the location of your sister and Bug.”

“Godsdammit. Find them and tell them this is serious shit they’re dealing with.” I moved to a better position of cover, then looked up at the sky. The battle was getting serious. I could see small ships in the stratosphere chasing each other and shooting rockets and energy weapons. Elsewhere, I saw drop ships heading to the planet with what had to be more Alon soldiers and armored vehicles.

“Please forgive my inadequate efforts,” X-37 said.

“Don’t apologize, X. I’m not sure any of it matters. We just have to stay alive and look for better solutions to all these problems,” I said.

“I agree completely, Reaper Cain.”

10

I knew there were other things I needed to do, but one thing led to another and my choices diminished rapidly. Passing an injured teenager, I stopped to render aid. When Bracken reported his position was being overrun by invaders, I rushed to assist them with Path and Elise at my side.

One crisis after another presented itself and we all struggled to make it through the night.

“You should sleep, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said.

“What about Envoy and Coranth? We have to find them before they find...whatever the thing is Victon sent us here to find,” I said, sitting down on a section of a collapsed building. I knew what I needed to do, I really did. Everything was just such a mess. It was hard to think.

“The Black Phoenix,” X-37 said.

“What?” My LAI wasn’t making sense. The planet was under attack. People were dying. Others were getting displaced, families forced to drag children across active battlefields. Rumors spread through Melina’s people, tales of cities burning or getting bombed to nothing.

I understood the importance of finding Envoy and Coranth—and the Black Phoenix—and part of me even remembered why. My Archangel was running low on power. Dehydrated, battle fatigued, and heart sick, I was struggling to stay focused. In short, it was time to get my shit together and get moving.

A voice blasted through the public address speakers in every neighborhood, not for the first time. “Citizens of Yansden City, you are encouraged and required to flee the metropolitan area. Repeat, an evacuation is underway. Flee the city immediately. Take only what is needed to survive for two days. No support will be offered to those who stay in the combat zone.”

Elise sat beside me, elbows on her knees. She took off her helmet and drew in a lung full of smoky air. Path took a casual sitting position, cross-legged and meditating. There was still no sign of Briggs.

“What’s on your mind, kid?” I asked.

Elise popped her neck to the left, and then to the right before answering. “They keep playing that announcement, but I don’t see many people leaving the city.”

“Tatiana once told me no one goes into the wilderness unless they’re on the work crew, and only two specific locations,” I said. “It’s been that way for centuries.”

“Still doesn’t make any sense,” she said, putting her helmet back on.

“On the contrary, Elise,” X-37 said. “No provisions have been made for evacuation. People fleeing the city would be refugees without support—or even a basic understanding of how to live outside the city infrastructure.”

“You’re right, X.” Elise struggled for something to say, clearly concerned but unable to provide a solution.

“It’s going to be a shit show,” I said. “We can’t fix that, but we can try not to make it worse. X, give me an update. Where are civilians in the most danger.”

“Are you sure you want another distraction from your mission?” X-37 asked on the channel I shared with Elise and Path.

“What I want doesn’t matter. These people need help here and now.”

An icon popped up on my HUD with notations there were civilians caught between enemy lines.

“Do they have shelter, X?”

“Reports indicate they are in buildings but Alon and Yansden defenders are shooting through the walls at each other, unknowing or uncaring of the collateral damage. There are also more Alon armored vehicles deploying to the surface,” X-37 said. “Tatiana is trying to contact you.”

“Put her through,” I said, leading Elise and Path to the worst crisis area.

“Cain, can you hear me?” Tatiana asked.

“I can hear you. Do you have fighters in grid coordinate A25 by E01? X is telling me there are civilians caught in the crossfire,” I said.

“We’re trying to launch a counteroffensive that may reach that area,” Tatiana said. “Can you make it to the compound? We could use your help.”

I hesitated.

“I have a suggestion,” X-37 said. “Why don’t you let Tom, Hannah, Bug, and Henshaw look for the Black Phoenix while you handle this?”

“Can’t do that,” I said. “They’re not ready to handle Envoy and Coranth—and whatever is in those ruins. And what did you say about Henshaw?”

“Henshaw is with your sister and the Dreadmax juvenile,” X-37 said. “I believe they are all conspiring to go on this mission without you.”

“Great. Really fantastic.” I moved toward the buildings where civilians were pinned down and taking fire from both friend and foe.”

“Tatiana, I’m on my way to the compound but I have something to do first.” Elise and Path followed me as I began to move, picking up the pace, barely pausing to take cover at the corner of each building.

“Good luck, Cain,” Tatiana said. “I’ve got a distress call at the location you’re describing. Attempting to rally a team to go help. We’re short on resources. Every time we drive back a squad, three squads reinforce the bastards and they push again.”

“We’ll keep you updated.” I had intended to say more but we arrived at our destination quicker than I had anticipated.

“Path, take the left flank. Elise, right. Tell me what you see,” I said.

“We’re moving into position.” Elise raced away from me, her voice a little hard to understand as she ran. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going inside. They probably have wounded.” Adjusting my stealth cloak for maximum coverage, I worked my way across a wide boulevard to a building that had been shot to hell.

Bullets ripped through the air. None were close enough to make me worry but it was a good indicator of escalating violence in this zone. “X, where are those shots coming from?”

“Some are ricochets. I am uncertain of the origin points of seventy-three percent of projectiles in this area.”

“I’ve seen this before when it all goes to hell. People are firing in about every direction and not always at good targets.” About two blocks farther on, I saw something streak downward and explode. At first I thought it was a huge rocket, but I realized it was a shuttle going down hard.

“X, was it a friend or foe?”

“I am unable to identify the craft. It was fully engulfed in flames and generating a large amount of smoke,” X-37 said.

“Doesn’t matter,” I muttered as I ducked through a doorway pockmarked with bullet holes. A man stood in my way holding a shovel with both hands. Sweat dripped into his eyes. He dried one hand at a time on his shabby jacket.

This wasn’t his normal gig; he wasn’t a soldier. Trying to see everywhere at once, he witnessed very little and didn’t notice me until I was within hand-to-hand combat range.

My image was imperfectly concealed, and I knew his mind was trying to figure out the slight blur in the air and why a pair of boots were walking toward him. His instincts were telling him to flee but he forced his feet to step toward his guard post each time they betrayed him by shuffling backward.

“I come in peace,” I said, pulling aside the stealth cloak to reveal one hand held up in friendship.

This was too much for him, apparently. He backed away, raising the shovel to strike. “Holy shit!”

I advanced another stride to get off the street, gestured for him to calm down, then faced back the way I had come. Sure enough, a pair of Alon shock troopers had been tracking me. I shouldered my HDK Dominator, aimed, and fired twice—striking both men in their throats and hoping that was where the Alon armor was weakest. Almost in unison, they pitched backward, flailed about on the ground for a second, and stopped moving.

“Who the hell are you?” The man demanded. “What are you?”

I dropped the hood of my stealth cloak and opened my visor. “I’m Halek Cain. Melina and Tatiana know me. And some others. Do you have wounded?”

“You’re lying,” he said. “Melina’s dead.”

“What?” My angry tone caused him to draw back another two steps.

“If you didn’t know that, you must be one of them,” he insisted.

“She sent Manager to bring me here.”

The man stood up a little straighter, unsure of himself. “Manager? She sent him for help yesterday, I thought.”

“I’ve been busy,” I said, moving into the building, thinking of the old woman I had failed. Her people needed my help more than ever and I couldn’t fail them.

Most of the interior walls were crumbling, causing the ceiling to sag in several places. Just then, bullets ripped through the exterior wall on my left, continuing through the interior walls and out the other side of the building. The Alon were using a crew served weapon or something similar. Not even the Archangel armor would stop one of those rounds.

The shovel wielding sentry froze. I threw him to the ground and covered him with my armored form. Another barrage of bullets went over us. Concrete exploded into the air. Sparks flew from metal within the walls.

“Are you okay?”

The man scooted away from me. “Yeah, mister. You just saved my life.”

“Where’s everyone else?” I rose to my feet, checked my gear, and started moving even before he answered.

“In the basement. There was an elevator in the center of the building, but it dropped during the first bombardment. The stairs are there too,” he said.

I looked back at him and realized he wasn’t following. “Are you coming?”

He hoisted the shovel and pointed toward the door where we had first met. “I have to guard this door.”

“Good luck.” I hurried toward the rest of the civilians, stopping twice to avoid getting shot by heavy machine gunfire from both sides of the conflict. This building was being ripped to shreds—coming apart around me faster and faster as the cumulative effects of the destruction mounted.

I found the elevator doors without a problem. They were standing open, dust and debris having been blown out of their elevation shafts. On one side was a door leading to the stairwell. I peeked into it, just for a second, then immediately stepped back and switched positions out of habit. This was a tactic to avoid getting shot in the doorway. The technique was a balance of gathering information while limiting exposure. Most people screwed it up by doing it twice in a row, which defeated its purpose.

A few seconds later, I rushed through and didn’t stop until I was well to one side of the fatal funnel. One of the first lessons they taught me during my spec ops days was to never stop in the doorway; it made you an easy target.

Thoughts of room clearing training took me back to my pre-Reaper days. The images flashed by and I mostly ignored them as I continued. Nostalgia was more of a feeling than a scene by scene re-creation of memories, especially when death was waiting everywhere.

By the time I reached the bottom of the stairwell, I could hear people shouting, someone groaning in pain, and children crying. The more I hurried, the more my Archangel boots chipped the concrete stairwell. Ducking through the final door, I witnessed Yansden citizens huddled together along one wall. A man and a woman tended to the wounded. The others comforted each other, especially the children.

“Don’t hurt us,” said the man who had been rendering first aid. He raised one palm toward me and stood, then he edged forward to put himself between me and his people.

“Melina sent me. I’m here to help.”

“I suggest you evaluate his reaction,” X-37 said. “Spontaneous behavior may yield important information about his objective during this engagement.”

I took my LAI’s advice and was rewarded. The man went pale but only for a second. These people had seen a lot of tragedy in the last twenty-four hours. The loss of their leader was just another example of the brutality of invasion. “He’s trying to survive an invasion, X.”

I looked at the structure of the room and wasn’t reassured. X-37 confirmed my suspicions. “If this building is hit by an artillery strike, it will collapse into the basement. The chances of survival will be greatly reduced.”

“You can’t stay here,” I said to the man and the terrified families. “If this place gets bombed, everything’s falling inward.”

“What do you expect us to do?” the man asked. The woman finished tying a tourniquet and stood beside him. I suspected they were husband and wife.

“I’m not sure.” I searched the room for another stairwell or exit. With luck, there would be a tunnel to a parking garage or even street access.

The man saw what I was looking for and shook his head. “There’s no way out except the way you came in.”

Something exploded outside, shaking the walls around us. I thought about the bullets ripping through the walls of the main level and couldn’t imagine moving so many civilians through that rain of death.

“What’s your name?”

“I’m Ben. This is Sandy, my wife.”

“I’m going to draw their fire in another direction. You should be able to exit the building and head back to the compound,” I said.

“The invaders and Tatiana’s people are fighting for possession of the city. She can’t risk a cease-fire just to help us. Old man Roberts, before he died, said she tried that and nearly got overrun. I think we’re stuck here,” Ben said.

“Maybe you are, maybe you aren’t,” I said. “I’m going to draw the Alon after me. What happens next is your decision. I can’t make that choice for you, because you may lose people during your escape. But if you stay here, you all die when the real Alon bombardment starts.”

He appeared shocked. “You mean it’s going to get worse than this?”

“A lot worse. Trust me, Ben. You don’t want to be here when that happens. Think about it, but not for too long. I can only do this once,” I said, then headed for the stairs. The climb down had seemed to take forever, but going up to face an unstoppable enemy altered my perception of time significantly.

“Do you believe Ben and his people will take your advice?” X-37 asked.

“I have no idea.”

“Then why take this risk? You could be killed and they might choose to remain where they are despite your sacrifice,” X-37 said.

“Thinking like that drives me crazy.” I tapped my shovel-wielding sentry on the shoulder. “I’m back. What’s your name?”

“Lenny Vo.” The man was obviously exhausted but less afraid than he had been when we first met.

“Well, Lenny, I’m going to start a nasty fight. You should find a better place to take cover,” I said, looking up and down the street and noting several places where the Alon soldiers were peeking out from cover, just dying for a chance to rush us. I also saw the extent of their lines. They weren’t just shooting through this building, but also on both sides of it. Lenny, Ben, Sandy, and all the others just happened to be in a really bad spot.

“You’re the Reaper, aren’t you?” he asked.

“Yeah, that’s me. Get back to the stairwell. Once they stop blowing the shit out of this building, get everybody to the compound. Ben and Sandy will help you,” I said.

The man swallowed, clearly not ready for this level of responsibility but willing to try. “Thanks, mister.”

“How exactly are you going to do this, Reaper Cain?” X-37 asked, adjusting the tactical feed in my HUD. Enemies were marked with red dots and there were a lot of them. Friendly forces were green. Unknowns were yellow. I dimmed the resolution so that I could see through these details. The resulting display was ghostlike in the way the symbols moved, constantly gathering to attack or defend.

“That depends on Elise and Path,” I said, then hailed my friends on the Archangel comm link. “Elise, Path, can either of you see me?”

“I can’t see you, Reaper,” Elise said. “But I know where you are. What’s the plan?”

“I’m going to make a frontal assault, using that overturned truck as cover. If by some miracle I break through, then move in as quick as you can to help mop up. If they respond with overwhelming firepower, I’m heading east by southeast from this position to draw their fire. Hopefully, that will allow the civilians to get clear of the combat zone.”

The plan was looking less and less doable the more I saw of the battlefield. Smoking holes marked every surface—buildings, street signs, vehicles, and bodies lying in pools of blood. Beams of light thrust through all the places the truck I wanted to hide behind had been punctured. I wasn’t sure there was much cover remaining. Not even the engine seemed dense enough to stop the Alon bullets.

“We can cover you until you move onto one of the side streets,” Elise said. “But we can’t keep them from shooting at you. Look at it this way—we’ll mostly be avenging your death when this goes horribly wrong. It’s hard to tell through all the smoke where they are hunkered down. My tactical feed is useless because there are so many of them it makes my view screen a mass of red dots.”

“Increase the translucence of your HUD and you’ll have the best of both worlds, real time tactical data and visibility,” I said.

Neither of my teammates responded as I psyched myself up for the assault. Were they adjusting their displays, or had they been killed by Alon invaders?

It was hard to know for sure.

“I’m ready when you are,” I said.

“We are on the next block, three stories up. We’ll do what we can.” Elise flashed an infrared beam twice, telling me and my limited artificial intelligence her location without revealing it to anyone not possessing advanced optics.

“Here we go, X.” I sprinted toward the overturned truck and took a position behind the engine compartment the moment I got there. It was the best of several really shitty options.

The HDK Fury was heavy and I was out of breath by the time I put my back to my cover. Pointing the weapon up, I felt sloppy and out of balance but at least I made it without getting murdered.

Once I had my heart rate under control, I rounded the corner and opened fire on a stack of metal barrels and concrete blocks the invaders had assembled as a jump off point for their next attack. More than a dozen enemy soldiers were bunched together affixing bayonets.

I stomped forward, the multi-barrel of my heavy machine gun spitting out death, relentlessly flashing hot gunfire in their direction. The visor on my Archangel helmet darkened to protect my eyes. Small arms fire ricocheted off my shoulder plate and my torso armor. None of it penetrated but the sensation was like getting massaged with a jackhammer.

“X, give me a ten count,” I grunted. “That’s about when I’ll see their big gun.”

“Ten, nine, eight—“

A rifleman leaned out from a balcony on one of the adjacent buildings. I swept the HDK Fury upward, then gave the impromptu sniper a short burst that disintegrated his position. Bits of concrete, plaster, and something that looked like wood rained down toward the street. I was already reacquiring my primary target—the jump off point for the next Alon attack.

A round grazed my helmet, forcing me to duck sideways. I sidestepped, shuffling my feet faster than seemed possible in such heavy armor while carrying a big weapon. My ammunition counter promised more than enough bullets to do the job, but I started using short bursts to conserve what I had.

Piss poor planning guaranteed piss poor performance. Eventually, I would run out. Later rather than sooner would be best.

“Four, three, two,” X-37 counted.

I pivoted on the balls of my feet and sprinted around the corner of a building. The alley that opened before me looked strange because I hadn’t expected to get quite this far into Alon held territory. X-37 put a map in my HUD but I immediately canceled it. There wasn’t time to read it and I needed to follow my instincts.

The Alon crew-served machine gun blasted the space behind me, shredding the buildings near the alleyway. Action trumped reaction; this time, the crew was playing catch-up. But I was in and they were going to have to come and get me.

“Elise, can you see how many are in pursuit?” None of this mattered if I hadn’t royally pissed them off and pulled them out of position.

“Oh, they’re coming after you,” she said, her voice sounding slightly awestruck by the hill of insects I had turned over. “I don’t see the civilians. Were they supposed to make a break for it?”

I didn’t have time to answer or worry. I came to an access ramp with a partially open door. It looked like it led to a machine shop, which might be the best chance I had to make this ridiculous sideshow work. There would be a lot of concrete and steel inside to use as cover. Once I was out of the alleyway, I realized the ceiling had already come down and the floor was a barely crossable debris field. Moving forward tortured my ankles and knees even in the Archangel armor.

“You’re moving far too slowly, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said. “If you cannot increase your speed by fourteen percent, turn and fight or you will die with a rocket or bullet in your back.”

Swearing with an intensity and previously unrealized creativity, I turned and aimed the HDK Fury at the doorway I’d just emerged from.

Something moved in the shadows to my left. I glanced that way but kept most of my attention where I knew my enemies would appear.

“Awk, Reaper.”

“Briggs, is that you?” All I could see was the faint luminescence of his eyes reflecting light from a high window and partially missing roof.

“Fucking-A-right it is,” he said. “Awk! Good shit, Reaper. Good awking shit. Awwwwk!”

“You need to see someone about that hacking or whatever that is,” I said. “You’re going to blow out a lung.”

A squad of Alon troopers burst through the doorway, spreading out to dominate the entire room. Unfortunately for them, there was too much space and too many obstructions to do a good job of it. A Union spec ops team in its prime couldn’t have handled the terrain.

The debris strewn floor disadvantaged everyone.

The shadows were harsh due to half of the ceiling being gone and several windows being blown out from artillery strikes or rocket attacks.

I edged backward and pointed my gun at the troopers, hoping to convince them I was out of ammo and only bluffing. Their group took two steps forward, yelling commands at me to surrender immediately. Instead, I gave them several short bursts, blowing the first two apart and injuring several others.

Briggs flew out of the shadows, crashing into their flank—tackling two of them to the ground so savagely it made me flinch. The chaos that followed was exquisite.

“Your biometrics are fluctuating and difficult to decipher. Are you jealous that the Slayer has inspired more fear without weapons than you did with that enormous chaingun?” X-37 asked.

“Not at all. I mean I’m pretty scary even without this thing.” I locked the Fury to my back and pulled my HDK forward because it was more precise. I needed to shoot enemies dangerously close to Briggs.

He came to his feet and immediately kicked a man who was about to shoot him with such force the man slammed against the wall behind him. I shot another group as they came to the door. Seconds later, one of them threw a grenade inside. Maybe it was a distraction grenade, but I had a feeling it would have a lethal dose of shrapnel in the blast.

“Briggs, get the hell back!”

He did a freakishly graceful backflip, landed badly, and twisted his ankle. Watching him scramble away from the explosion stressed me out. I was retreating, unsure how much more my Archangel armor could take and uncertain of how hot they loaded their bullets.

The explosion rattled my teeth even inside my armor. I looked around for Briggs after the smoke cleared and didn’t see him.

“Adjusting sound cancellation filters,” X-37 said.

My hearing came back. “Thanks, X.”

“I suggest you follow the Slayer and see if you can render aid, as he is most likely injured,” X-37 said.

“Sounds like a plan,” I agreed, working my way across the pile of rocks and collapsed building infrastructure. Clouds passed overhead, making the shadows even more inconsistent in the ruined building. “Cain for Elise, do you copy?”

“We hear you, Cain. I thought you might be dead this time,” she admitted. “Something’s happening. The Alon are pulling back everywhere. They still have dropships landing, but farther away from this section. Maybe they’re attacking a different part of the city.”

It took me several seconds to answer because I was watching where I stepped, trying not to fall and jam the barrel of my gun into a pile of busted up cinderblocks. “That’s not what’s happening. There’s going to be a bombardment.”

* * *

“Meet me at the compound,” I said.

“We’re on our way.” Elise sounded like she was jumping from building to building.

I glanced up, wondering if I would catch a glimpse of her and the sword saint but saw nothing. “Briggs?”

No answer. Searching for the wounded Slayer was a distraction I didn’t need. Every time I came around the corner, I worried the Alon withdraw might not have been as complete as promised. A few artillery rounds struck the city, checking the range for what was on the way.

“Blood trail detected,” X-37 said.

Looking down, I saw where Briggs had been. His tracks were like nothing I’d seen, and I realized he hadn’t been wearing boots or other footwear for some time. The idea of manufacturing armor he could use seemed more and more impossible. I could tell this was his trail by a bloody handprint on the corner of the wall, too high for a normal-sized humanoid to have caused.

“Briggs!”

A minute later, I thought I heard him grunting at me. When I entered a new plaza littered with bombed out vehicles and craters in the concrete, I saw him leaning against a fountain. “You look like shit.”

“Awk.”

The Slayer snapped at me when I hastily applied a pressure bandage to his upper left arm, and another to his right calf muscle. The sight of the lower appendage took me aback. There were hooks and spikes running along his shin—not large, but noticeable. About the last thing I wanted was to be kicked by my former commander.

“Let’s go,” he said, his voice raspy.

By the next block he was limping badly. I leaned into him and pulled his right arm over my shoulders, helping him walk. Even with my Archangel enhanced strength, it was difficult to move fast enough.

“Cain,” came Tatiana’s voice on a shared radio channel. “I see you and the monster. Do you think it’s safe to carry him? He doesn’t look right.”

“He’s pissed off.” I changed course, heading for a section of the compound where I now saw Tatiana and her personal guard. “Getting a grenade thrown at you tends to do that.”

“I hate when grenades get thrown at me. So rude,” she joked. “You’re right in the way of our counter assault. We can’t go until you get here, so pick up the pace.”

“Fine.” After securing my weapons, I leaned down to grab Briggs in a shoulder carry. The transfer of his full weight onto me was an interesting experience to say the least. Several warning icons I’d never seen before appeared on my HUD.

“The Slayer is denser and heavier than I assumed,” X-37 said.

“Just figuring that out for myself.” I shuffled forward as fast as I could, since it was impossible to truly run. The farther I moved with Briggs on my shoulders, the lower and lower I stooped. “Fuck, Briggs. What the hell have you been eating.”

“Things that crawl,” he said, each word bumping out of his mouth in time with my awkward gait.

Tatiana waved me through the line, then helped me lower the Slayer to the ground.

“It’s good to see you, Cain.” She looked toward her men, then back at me. “There’s no time for a proper reunion. Radio me when you have him situated. We’re going to need your help. As soon as the bombardment ends the Alon will come, but we’ll attack first.”

It wasn’t a bad plan. I gave her a hug, feeling like a metal giant in my Archangel gear. She wore primitive body armor like the rest of her soldiers. “Watch your ass, Tatiana. I’ll do what I can to help.”

“You must find Envoy and Coranth,” X-37 interrupted privately. “You’ve completely abandoned the mission, Reaper Cain.”

Tatiana gave me a smile and a thumbs up, and then she was gone with her soldiers to set up an ambush for the invaders.

“Bullshit, X,” I said, helping Briggs to his feet. “I’m getting to it.”

“You must get to it quicker, Reaper Cain.”

“People are dying here, X, in case you haven’t noticed.”

X-37 beeped one of his sounds I never quite understood. “I have kept exact statistics of the losses, both material and organic, of this conflict.”

“That’s not the same, X.”

“Of course it isn’t,” X-37 said. “I’m little more than neural wiring and processing power. My capabilities are limited by my host in exchange for my analytical and hormone regulating abilities. You know this, Reaper Cain. But I am also right.”

What came next was more horrific than any bombardment I have ever witnessed. The Alon quickly revealed an aptitude for psychological warfare in addition to the overwhelming superiority and volume of their ordnance. The first three strikes came with the rhythmic precision of a symphony, each shell screaming downward like a banshee from hell.

A chill went up my spine. There was something primal about the sound and I knew it wasn’t accidental. They wanted to do more than destroy infrastructure and kill people, they wanted to drive terror into the hearts of their victims.

“Jelly sent us a message,” X-37 said. “There appears to be widespread panic in all parts of Yansden City, not just the poor neighborhoods.”

“Explosions don’t discriminate,” I said, checking the news feeds my LAI provided. This only took seconds, but it had to be done. I urged Briggs forward, finding a place with the best cover I could and double checking my first aid efforts. He didn’t snap at me this time, nor did he complain.

“Are we friends, Reaper?” he asked.

I stopped what I was doing. “Yeah, Briggs. I guess we are.”

He twisted sideways and groaned to reveal a painful piece of shrapnel stuck in his left quadricep. “Never would’ve guessed that could happen. Awk. You were such an asshole before BSMP.”

“To be honest, not much has changed.” I made sure I had clotting gel and sufficient pressure bandages to handle what I was about to do. “This is going to hurt.”

“Everything hurts,” he said.

I pulled free the shrapnel, disinfected the wound channel, and applied clotting gel. Seconds later, I pressed down the bandage and held it firmly for several seconds. Briggs writhed in pain but didn’t bite me or anything like I suspected he might if pushed too far. Without looking at the bandage, I wrapped a longer version around the leg several times to hold the thicker pad in place.

“You need to hold that,” I said.

He hissed, fought for self-control, and nodded. “I know what to do. I’m still a soldier.”

“Agreed. Nothing can change that,” I said. “I need to find Elise and Path and figure out what to do next.”

“I’ll catch up to you,” Briggs said.

“Commander Briggs should probably return to the Jellybird. All he can do now is get captured by the Alon or the Sansein—if the aliens make it to the planet surface. The recovery will be quicker on the ship.”

I looked Briggs up and down.

“What did your LAI tell you, Cain?” the Slayer asked.

“You need to hide. Lie low until we can get the Jellybird to pick you up,” I said, wondering how he would react.

Without a word, the wounded creature slunk backward into a hiding place, eyeing me resentfully.

Once I’d lost sight of him and decided he was doing what I asked, I went in search of Elise and Path. I felt like I might be the last man on the planet. People had gone to ground, sheltering in basements or drainage canals or under highways when there was nothing else available.

Round two of the bombardment began, immediately rendering all of those places unsafe. Something streaked straight down, possibly from the upper atmosphere, and smashed through a street about five hundred meters ahead of me. My eyes recorded an image of the concrete and asphalt lifting, creating a dome, then bursting in all directions from the release of kinetic energy.

The shockwave hurled me backward. Nothing living could have survived the overpressure without armor like mine. The abandoned streets were a blessing.

Then the panic started. Survivors crawled out of basements and subway tunnels, running blindly in the direction they thought was out of the city. Disoriented, injured—sometimes mortally—the walking wounded were running now if they could still ambulate.

Normal artillery rounds hit with increasing frequency, cutting people down with fire and shrapnel. When the bunker busters struck, it felt like the entire planet tilted sideways.

“The citizens are attempting to evacuate the city, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said. “The good news is that Tatiana and Loren have combined forces to resist the first of the Alon push.”

“Great. We’re saved.”

“No, Reaper Cain, we are not.” X-37 displayed statistics and facts in my HUD, only stopping the flow when I made profanity my first language.

I dusted myself off and began searching for my friends. “Elise? Can you hear me.”

Static covered the voice that answered. After two more tries, she finally got through. “We’re here, Reaper.”

“Where are you?” I asked.

“Near the south compound gate with Tatiana and Loren,” Elise answered, then said something else that was lost in a tumult of noise.

“Plot a course, X,” I said, and started running. It was frustrating, because every time I really got moving, I had to stop or move to a new street to avoid one of the big strikes. When I saw civilians, they were beyond helping, streaming toward another part of the city. The only positive was that most of them had figured out which way to go now. A few might even make it.

I followed the waypoints X-37 set for me and soon contacted my friends. They’d converted a crater into a fortified position, moving rocks and debris into strategic locations. I didn’t like it because it was not exactly high ground, but it did keep us below the flying shrapnel when it came.

A new wave of Alon assault craft swooped down and disappeared a few streets from our location.

“Those are a lot bigger, Reaper,” Elise said.

“That’s because they have armored vehicles, maybe mobile artillery platforms,” I said. “Why don’t we just jog over there and find out firsthand.”

“I’ll pass,” Elise said.

Tatiana started arguing with Loren, or that’s what it seemed like when I first saw them. I marched their way, ready to punch the leader of the Kalon Regulars in his face if needed. Just before I made a mistake, I realized they weren’t yelling at each other, but about the situation.

“Who the hell are these people?” Tatiana demanded. “Can’t they see we’ve had enough? When are they going to stop?”

Loren didn’t have an answer for this. He acted equally outraged, but also seemed distracted like there was someplace else he needed to be.

I knew the feeling. Nothing could ever be easy.

“The only thing we can do is slow them down while people evacuate,” Loren said. “Once they’ve overextended themselves, we can strike back using our knowledge of Yansden.”

“Don’t get your hopes up,” I said, worried Tatiana and the others would put too much faith in him.

“Have you ever fought against an unconventional force defending their homes, Reaper?” he asked.

“No. Point taken.” I wondered how long the Regulars at the compound had been going at it. Centuries at least.

Tatiana hesitated, then nodded grimly. “We can make their life difficult, but it has to hurt them to slow them down. We need to mix unconventional, hit and run tactics with pitched battles where we have the advantage in terrain.”

Loren nodded, appreciating her sense of strategy and tactics.

“I need to have the Jellybird pickup Briggs,” I said. “He’s a liability to the mission.”

“Can you evacuate people with your ship?” Tatiana asked.

“Not many. She would be best used as a command-and-control or surveillance platform, but we’ll see what happens,” I said. I could tell Tatiana was thinking but didn’t quite have the words. I helped Path and Elise get ready for what was coming, then began doing the same for Tatiana and Loren’s people, giving them tips I thought might keep them alive—mostly where they should move to have the best cover when the attack came.

We fell back street by street, taking pot shots at the advancing enemy who was quickly assembling more numbers than we could deal with, especially since they had armored vehicles. I knew we were really in trouble when I started seeing atmosphere capable fighters strafing the streets and providing surveillance for their command staff.

11

Daylight turned to darkness that seemed darker than normal when contrasted with the fires raging in every part of the city. Yansden militia, the Kalon Regulars, and fighters from three different compounds fought all around me. “I hate urban warfare, X.”

“I will make a note,” X-37 said. “Or is there a reason you make this observation at this precise moment?”

Shaking my head, I looked for Tatiana among the dead and didn’t find her. “Elise, Path, report.”

“Still on your flank. Still saving your ass,” Elise said. “You need to focus.”

Moving to a better position, I searched for Alon cleansing teams.

“Most of the population is in the wilderness now, Reaper. Not much reason for us to stay,” Elise said as she joined me near a subway entrance.

Her Archangel helmet allowed her a variety of night vision options, which meant she could see into the gloom far better than normal. What she didn’t know was that my Reaper eye worked synergistically with the helmet.

I could see farther into the black veil that concealed the men and women coming up the wide stairs.

“Watch the stairs,” I said. “I think they’re on our side but be ready for anything.”

“What are you talking about? I already scanned the—” She aimed her left arm at the newcomers, ready to hit them with her backup weapon. “How did you see into that?”

“I’m a Reaper.” I moved toward several fighters that I recognized as they came closer. “Tatiana, are you injured?”

The woman, granddaughter of Melina, ordered her men and women into defensive positions around the subway entrance—sending some of them across the street and two up the side of a shattered building.

“I’m well, Cain. Your armor looks like someone collapsed a building on top of you,” Tatiana said.

“It’s been a rough couple of days.”

“There are about three thousand people—old and sick mostly—unable to be evacuated. They won’t survive another bombardment,” she said.

“Can you move them?” X-37 warned me this was impractical even if possible.

“We’re working on it, but their airships attack any vehicle we use.” Her mood was impressive, determined, and far from hopeless despite the situation.

“I need to get Briggs out of here. There’s room for two or three others on the ship, just for a short time,” I said.

“Good luck landing your ship and taking off again,” she said. “If it’s all the same to you, Cain, I won’t put any of my people in that kind of danger. Our chances of surviving this siege are poor but surviving a flight over Yansden City is impossible. They put up guns every place they go, and their airships are ruthless.”

“Thanks for the warning,” I said. “X-37, put Jelly on the line.”

Path joined us, saluting Elise, then me, then Tatiana and the others. “Good to see you all survived. Walking these streets is like exploring a ghost town.

“Jelly is receiving, Reaper Cain,” X-37 advised. “Go for comms.”

“Jelly, I need you to pick up Briggs. “There are surface to air guns and airships on patrol,” I said.

“I am on the way, Captain,” Jelly said. “Tom would like to talk to you.”

“Just spit it out, Jelly. You can tell me anything he can,” I said.

“Not in this case, Captain”

“Fine, Jelly. Put him on.” I didn’t like the feel of this conversation. Why were we breaking our routines and habits now?

“I have bad news,” Tom said. “Hannah, Bug, and Henshaw persisted in their efforts to reach the planet to look for Envoy and Coranth. I wasn’t able to intervene.”

X-37 muted my mic so that my friends didn’t hear my profane heavy response. It took a while. I took a cleansing breath, then another. I paced, resisting the need to punch something.

“What ship are they in?”

“It seems the Lady Faith was recaptured during a recent encounter with the Sansein and Alon—part of a very dynamic battle,” X-37 said.

“Great. Fantastic.”

“Are you not excited that James Henshaw was reunited with his ship, Reaper Cain?”

“If that gives my sister and Bug a way to run around and get themselves killed, no, I’m not excited.” The Lady Faith is stealth capable, something I thought could be useful, but not for what they were planning. “Jelly, can you contact Lady and see where they are?”

“We have the coordinates, obtained through a bit of espionage on my part,” Jelly said. “You can’t expect Lady to betray her captain.”

“Which means Henshaw forbade her from telling you where they were headed,” I said. “I need to get Briggs out of here. He’s in bad shape.”

“Where is he?” Jelly asked.

I gave the coordinates to a building near our current location. The street was wide enough for the Jellybird to touch down, but she would be vulnerable every second she was on the ground. “There’s an anti-aircraft gun covering this area I need to take out.”

“One gun?” Tom asked. “Jelly can handle it.”

“Not if she runs into one of their fighter wings. They’re specially made for atmosphere-only operation, more dangerous than anything I’ve seen in the air,” I said. “Give us ten minutes to take the building and eliminate the gun crew, then get down here to pick up Briggs. You’ll have to get off the ship and grab him yourself, Tom. I need Elise and Path with me.”

“Don’t worry, Hal. I’ll get the Slayer out of there,” Tom said.

Tatiana stepped near me. “We can incorporate your mission into our objective. Will you stay and help us fight after your monster is safe?”

I turned toward Elise, not sure how to answer Tatiana’s question.

“Maybe it’s time for us to go too, Reaper,” Elise said. “We can’t win this for them. Finding the Black Phoenix is better in the grand scheme of things.”

“Before you answer, Reaper Cain, I must inform you I now have a good location for Envoy and Coranth and a nearly exact location for Hannah, Bug, and Henshaw. This is actionable information,” X-37 said.

Tatiana clenched her jaw, didn’t speak, and backed up almost like she was giving me space to make my own decision. I really didn’t know as much about women as I thought I did.

“One thing at a time, X. Let’s take out that gun,” I said, motioning for Elise and Path to move with me as I jogged toward a narrow street. According to my HUD map, it would take us to our objective.

“With respect, Reaper Cain, failure to plan is a guarantee for chaos,” X-37 said, but only for my team this time. “We must make a decision.”

“You’re not wrong, X,” I said.

“So what’s it going to be, Reaper,” Elise asked.

I stopped at the last place I could look back at the compound soldiers. “Connect me to Tatiana.”

“Of course, Reaper Cain. Would you like privacy?” X-37 asked.

Ignoring X’s question, I didn’t have to wait long for Tatiana to respond.

“What’s it going to be, Cain?” she asked.

“My sister is racing two alien monsters to ancient ruins where she thinks there is a superweapon,” I said. “Last time we went into the wilderness we ran into Neverseen Overlords and nearly died. They’re not ready for something like that.”

“I understand, Cain. We really need your help here, especially with Melina missing in action,” Tatiana said.

“She’s MIA? One of your people told me she was dead.”

Tatiana’s expression changed, eyes widening as she considered the worst-case scenario.

“You don’t really know, do you?” I asked.

“She’s missing in action. Let’s just leave it at that. Take care of yourself, Reaper. I need to lead my soldiers,” she said.

Path stepped closer and I knew what I needed to do. “What’s on your mind, sword saint?”

“They could use our help, but you have to go to the ruins,” he said. “Leave me here, and I’ll do what I can. You and Elise should be able to watch out for each other. She’s already better than I was when you and I first met.”

“Don’t tell her that. I don’t want her to get cocky,” I said. The idea of leaving Path behind gave me mixed feelings. I felt better having him at my side but also wanted to do more for Tatiana and her people. “It’s up to you.”

“I’ll stay. We’ll meet again when it’s over,” he said. “I can neutralize the gun, but I must go now.”

I groaned and turned away from him slightly. “Get after it, then.”

Path sprinted into an alley. A green dot on my HUD showed him moving closer and closer to the gun.

“The Jellybird is getting close,” Elise said. “We need to get Briggs out of his hiding place and ready for pickup.”

“Agreed.” I marched toward the group of compound soldiers Tatiania was leading into the area. “Path, what’s your status.”

“Very close to the gun now, Cain. When I grenade it, their security forces will pursue me. I will need help from you or Tatiana’s people.” Path sounded vaguely out of breath.

“I’m on my way, Path.”

“No, Reaper. Just tell Tatiana.”

I rushed to Tatiana, then hastily explained Path’s situation and transmitted his location to the small tactical tablet she was using to monitor her people.

“I’ll send my best people,” she said. “You’re in a hurry, Cain. I know you.”

I wanted to embrace her but knew it would undermine her leadership if I did it in front of her troops. Public displays of affection were not welcome in any military organization, and the fact that I was so much larger than her in my Archangel armor would make her look small right before they were headed into battle and needed confidence.

“Anthony, Kiana—take your teams to these locations and help the swords saint. Be ready for a running gun battle,” Tatiana said into her radio.

The gun exploded in the distance. Gun fire erupted and I could tell several Alon squads were after Path and Tatiana’s top soldiers.

“What’s going on, Reaper. I know you didn’t change your mind,” she said. “We don’t have times for long good byes.”

“It’s not good bye.” We didn’t have time to argue and I knew it.

Tatiana stepped closer. “Tell it to me straight, Cain.”

I hesitated, took off my helmet, and took a knee to reduce the height disparity. Now she looked down on me, holding back a laugh but also blushing.

“Careful, Reaper. People will talk.” She was self-conscious but not displeased.

“Just take care of yourself. Don’t take stupid risks. I’d like you to show me around Yansden when this is over,” I said, holding my helmet in one hand.

“We can do that, Cain. You might be more careful about who you kneel before in the future. I don’t know how it is where you come from, but when a man kneels before a woman, he is usually proposing marriage.”

I stood up so quickly it made her laugh. “Don’t hurt yourself. There’s an alien invasion to repel and a world to save.”

The ground shook under my feet as another bombardment struck the city, farther away from us this time but even more intense. The sky showed less of the space battle, which didn’t mean anything. Most likely, the conflict had merely moved away from the gravity well.

“Breaking contact now,” Path reported. “The gun has been neutralized but they’re already trying to put another in place. Get out of here, Reaper.”

The Alon had only come this close to provide support for their invasion. That probably meant most of their land forces were now on the ground and ready to begin in earnest.

Tatiana met my gaze, a moment passed, and we both laughed despite the gravity of the situation.

“I’ll be back,” I said. “Hopefully with something that will help us out of this mess.”

We bumped fists, then parted. Elise fell in beside me as we strode toward Briggs’s hiding place.

“You’re quite the charmer,” she said.

“Are you trying to sound sarcastic or just hurt my feelings for no reason.”

Elise twisted to face me as we walked, leaning back slightly and spreading her hands as though asking a question. “You have feelings?”

“Sure, kid. I’m a delicate flower.”

“A deadly, and delicate, cybernetically enhanced assassin flower,” she corrected.

Shaking my head, I made sure the final street leading to where we had hidden Briggs was clear. Gunfire chattered in almost every direction, sounding much less impressive than the more and more frequent explosions in the area.

“There isn’t much distance to go. Let’s move together. Stay alert,” I said.

She gave me a thumbs up.

We crossed without incident and entered the building where we had stashed our monstrous friend. It had been a long time since the lights, even emergency lights, had worked within the structure. The only illumination was from reflections of the battle through the broken-out windows.

The shadowy corner where the Slayer had been crouching was empty. “Briggs?”

“I’m over here, Reaper. It’s about time I got out of this place. There’s too much time to think.” He moved toward me.

“The Jellybird is en route. We need to get you to the landing zone.”

A flash of light from a broken window illuminated one side of his blood smeared face as he shook his head. “I’m not going anywhere. The ship feels like a cage.”

“You need to heal. Jelly is taking a huge risk coming for you. Let’s go,” I said, catching Elise in my peripheral vision. She watched Briggs and me, saying nothing, which made me think she was worried about how this was going to go.

Only a Slayer or a Sansein could threaten me in one-on-one combat while I was in the Archangel armor. Briggs had been growing larger and stronger for several months, mutating into a killing machine like I’d never imagined. The prospect of winning a fight with him no longer seemed certain, if it ever had.

“You’re not my commanding officer,” Briggs said. “Awk, Awwwk. I don’t know how much time I have left, with or without these wounds. I want to do one thing that really matters. I don’t care what the people of Yansden think of me. The Alon sons-of-bitches will conquer them over my dead body.”

“You’re all fucked up. What do you think you’re going to do, bleed on the enemy?” I asked, getting genuinely pissed for the first time in a while.

“Let me do this, Reaper.” His voice was soft. “You take the Jellybird and go on the real mission. Stop screwing around here trying to be a hero.”

“I am detecting armored vehicles moving in our direction,” X-37 said. “You must make a decision and act upon it.”

The sound of the Alon tanks was hard to miss. I didn’t understand why Briggs was doing this. His logic made sense even though I didn’t like it. I’d been in similar situations and had the same thoughts. But for some reason, it just didn’t connect. All I could think of was that he wanted to die before he changed into a monster he couldn’t even recognize.

“Let’s go, Elise.” I turned for the door.

She paused long enough to toss Briggs a handheld radio. “You might warn them you’re coming so they don’t shoot you.”

“Thanks,” he growled, slipping back into the shadows. Oversized, strangely shaped footprints betrayed his passage.

Neither Elise nor I spoke as we jogged to the LZ and boarded the moment the Jellybird touched down. We abandoned the city, leaving me unsure if I had made the right decision.

* * *

“I apologize for the rough ride, Captain,” Jelly said. “Taking evasive maneuvers in gravity and atmosphere entails certain limitations.”

Full recharged, my Archangel armor was tethered to a wall in the loading bay for safety reasons. It wasn’t as secure as a flight chair, but at least I was geared up and ready to go.

“I get it, Jelly. Do what you gotta do.” The ammunition boxes that fed my HDK Fury and the magazines I used for my HDK Dominator were full. I had wolfed down some ration bars and drank a half gallon of water.

Elise was ready, quietly waiting for whatever came next. The absence of Briggs and Path gave me a bad feeling.

“We’ve risen above the range of surface to air rockets,” Jelly advised. “There is, however, an Alon ship racing toward us from low orbit.”

“Noted,” I said. “Give me an update on Hannah and the rest of her foolhardy friends.”

“I’ve received no reports. It seems they are still searching for the ruins. The wilderness in question is densely forested, a triple canopy jungle that hasn’t been explored by the local populace,” Jelly said.

“Great. I hate jungle missions.”

Elise looked up at my declaration. “What’s wrong with jungle missions?”

“Everything,” I said.

“The Alon ship is closing on us rapidly and sending a message. Do you wish to respond? I believe it is Commander Peter Tobias, the man you fought when our enemies first entered the system,” Jelly said.

“I advise against communication, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said.

“What can a little harmless banter hurt?” I asked. “Jelly, put the arrogant jackwagon on the holo view.”

“Right away, Captain”

The man who appeared was tall and gaunt, with dark circles around his gray eyes that couldn’t hide the intensity of his gaze. I’d seen enough men like him to realize there was an iron strength in his almost skeletal physique. He was one of those individuals who was stronger than he looked and probably twice as mean.

“What the hell are you up to, Reaper? I knew I would find you in this fight, and now you’re running into the wilderness?”

“Why don’t we meet at the spaceport, and I’ll give you a shot at the title,” I said, not really believing he could fall for such an obvious misdirection.

“What title?”

“Never mind.” I stalled, hoping we could get enough of a lead to escape into the wilderness if we had to. “What I meant to say was go to hell. I hope you die.”

“Don’t run from me, Reaper. I’ll hunt you to the core of this planet if I have to!” Tobias shouted, distorting his voice through the radio.

“I need some options, Jelly. How much farther until we find Hannah and the others?” I asked.

“We are in the correct region, possibly as near to them as two or three kilometers. You could continue the rest of the way on foot,” Jelly said. “Maybe. If you are lucky. And nothing eats you. And you can navigate without sunlight.”

X-37 chimed in. “My analysis suggests that Commander Peter Tobias will pursue us—you specifically, Reaper Cain—and the Jellybird should be able to escape to provide us limited aerial support. The terrain will dictate what our ship can and cannot do to help us.”

“Take us down, Jelly,” I said, bracing myself for an even rougher ride. “We need to find the Black Phoenix before Tobias causes us more problems.

12

My ship descended through tree branches, striking the smaller variations away. I couldn’t feel the impact and wouldn’t have known it was an issue if Tom and Jelly weren’t providing updates.

“Can we get to the surface? How high are we right now?” I asked, doing mental calculations.

“This is as low as we can get without finding a better location. The tablet you pilfered is pointing us to rough terrain,” Tom said. “You do know it also points off planet?”

“Yeah, we’ll deal with that later. And pilfered is an ugly word,” I shot back. “Can we just say the tablet?”

“Sure, Hal,” Tom said with a laugh.

“Thanks.” Privately I was proud of pickpocketing Loren right in front of his men, but it was bad form to say so.

“We can break branches and tear through vines, but I’m not sure what would happen if these things got sucked into our engines. Everything is different in atmosphere. And I suspect there is a lot more to that forest than we can see from up here. “

“All is well, Captain. I’m not detecting engine malfunctions yet, but we cannot descend lower. The trees are too thick and close together,” Jelly said.

“This is a triple or quadruple canopy jungle, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said. “You have several options. It is possible to deploy into one of the layers of forestation or jump forcefully and break through all the way to the ground.”

“Do you have data on that type of deployment?” I asked.

“None, Reaper Cain. But you often told me to think positively,” X-37 said.

“I was probably pulling your chain, X.”

“And I likely advised you that I have no chain to pull,” X-37 said. “Shall I cite the various discussions and arguments we have had on this matter?”

“No. Save it for later. Elise and I will jump in and figure it out on the way down.”

Elise slowly shook her head. “Great.”

The Jellybird banked, then descended toward what passed for a clearing in the dense jungle—a section slightly less overgrown with trees that had to be hundreds or thousands of years old. A waterfall plunged down the side of a cliff, disappearing beneath the foliage. Most of the leaves were green, but there were hundreds of other colors, and there was constant movement as birds exploded into the air at our approach.

I thought of the arboreal creatures we had encountered during our previous trip to the mountains to shut off the power station and the pets children of Yansden City used to alert them when Neverseen were creeping through the streets. What I sensed moving among the branches were probably different variations of the species.

“Don’t go down there,” the holo image of Tobias said. “You think it’s an easy escape. In your head, I’m just a space fighter pilot. But you shouldn’t make assumptions.”

“I’m sure you and your friends are a bunch of hotshot commandos ready for anything.” I signaled for Jelly to take us lower.

“You have a penchant for sarcasm, Reaper,” Tobias said. “One of these days, your mouth is going to get you in trouble. I told you we weren’t finished.”

“You keep chasing us, and we keep escaping. I don’t see why the pattern would change.” I felt the ship bump against something Jelly didn’t bother to put on the display.

Tobias laughed then opened his mouth to say something. His image flickered and vanished.

“Apologies, Captain. The man was displaying mannerisms X-37 has informed me are annoying to you and the rest of the crew. I have kept the audio feed open if you wish to communicate further,” Jelly said.

“No worries, Jelly. Wait until he is in the middle of the section then end the call abruptly.”

“Of course, Captain. I will watch for the opportunity,” Jelly said.

“What are you saying to your ship?” Tobias demanded.

“I was ordering breakfast,” I said. “I’m only gonna warn you once, Tobias. Leave this alone. It’s not going to end well for you or your team.”

“And now you’re back to arrogance. Haven’t you been paying attention to the battles all over the planet? Our victory is a matter of time. In fact, because our domination is inevitable, I’ve been given an unlimited time window to pursue you and teach you a—“

“Connection terminated,” Jelly said. “Please proceed to the cargo ramp if you wish to deploy into the jungle canopy.”

“You heard her,” I said to Elise.

We headed for our positions, checking our Archangel armor again as we walked.

“Looking good, Reaper,” Elise said. “Are you sure you want to take the Fury into this mess? It might get in the way down there.”

“Every time I leave it behind, I wish I had it with me,” I said, as an alert flashed in my HUD.

“Several air fighters have joined commander Peter Tobias and are attacking,” Jelly said. “Please deploy now. I need to take evasive maneuvers.”

“We’re short of the drop zone by fifty kilometers.” I instantly regretted the statement. My friends were doing all they could. “Can you do this, Tom?”

“Jelly and I have been through worse,” he said.

“Let’s go!” Elise stepped to the edge of the opening ramp.

We jumped at the same time, aiming for thick branches we might land on if everything went perfectly.

Which it didn’t, of course. I missed the leg-thick branch completely and slammed my helmet visor into the trunk of the tree instead of grabbing something that might have held my weight, causing a pinwheeling effect that was more and more disorienting the further I fell.

The armor AI beeped and squawked warning tones. A reticle twisted and turned in my vision, attempting to recalibrate my sense of up and down. I struck branches, trees, and who knew what else. Something tangled around my left ankle, briefly yanking my leg upward.

If I wasn’t so heavy, it would’ve left me dangling upside down and wondering what the hell had happened.

I couldn’t know how Elise was doing. It would only be seconds before we both stopped, one way or another. All I knew for sure was that without the Archangel armor, I’d be dead. Probably Elise as well.

The ground hit me like a freight train. Blackness swept across my vision and held me captive for a time. Maybe it had been minutes or seconds or days since we made the jump, but I couldn’t know for certain.

After pushing myself to my feet, I moved immediately, no time to check my tactical feeds. I needed to change my position, then evaluate what was around me and make tactical improvements to our situation.

“Elise, do you copy?” I asked.

No answer.

“Help me out, X.” I moved to a better position of cover behind a thick vine and moss-covered tree trunk wider than most shuttles. If the Alon ship started shooting, I wanted protection for me and Elise.

“I’ve located the Archangel armor that Elise is using approximately three hundred meters from your current location. It seems to be operational and is broadcasting her life signs on a secure link.”

“Okay.” I slapped myself on my helmet several times. “I’m good. Show me where she’s at.”

A topographical map popped up, seemingly floating in the air before me. An icon marked where Elise was down and showed me three possible routes to get there through the difficult terrain. I began immediately.

“Did Jelly get away?” I climbed over a fallen tree three times as thick as I was.

“Not yet. Commander Tobias has brought an entire squadron. They’re attacking without restraint. I predict there is a forty-nine percent chance that Tom and the Jellybird will escape.”

“Those are shitty odds,” I said.

“On the contrary, they are much better than many other missions we have participated in, Reaper Cain.”

“Run it again and tell me if it gets better.”

“And if it doesn’t?”

I hesitated. “On second thought, forget it. I’m almost to Elise’s position. Is there anything I’m missing on the scans of this area?”

“There are significant amounts of indigenous life-forms, but none I perceive as a threat to you at this moment,” X-37 said.

“Elise, respond if you hear me.” HDK Dominator ready, I moved in a slight crouch to duck under vines and branches. It was dark as hell down here. Only the faint luminescence of mushrooms provided light—and it was like a collection of pink, purple, and orange mood lamps.

“I’m alive,” Elise said. “Just don’t feel like moving. Why did you push me out of the Jellybird?”

“You jumped.”

She groaned, then rolled onto her side. “You jumped.”

“We both jumped. Now we have to get our act together. We may have bigger problems than the Alon invasion or even the Sansein. This is another world down here.”

With one hand, I pulled Elise to her feet and promptly snagged the Fury that was locked to my back on a tangle of vines. “Shit.”

Elise accepted the assistance and moved away from me as soon as she was able to stand on her own. Tactically, it was never a good idea to be bunched up. With a growing appreciation for where we were, I doubted we were going to take fire from the Alon airships, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t something here that wouldn’t eat us.

“See what I mean?” I asked as Elise finally shook off the concussion or three she’d suffered during the fall.

“About jungle missions? Yeah, now I know why you hate them. Can X tell us how far we have to travel through this?”

“Trust me, kid, we’re barely getting started.” I consulted the maps X-37 was building in my HUD. “There’s a river up ahead. We’ll need to cross it to get within a kilometer of the first ruin site.”

“I’m sure it will be easy to cross,” Elise said. “Any word on Tom and Jelly?”

“They are locked in a sustained engagement. One of Tom’s books calls it a dogfight,” X-37 said.

“What’s a dog?” Elise asked.

“It’s like a dragon.”

“You and your Earth monsters. Sometimes I wonder who reads more of that trash fiction, you or the mechanic,” Elise said. “My Archangel HUD is showing the maps X made for you. I’ll lead. When we get to the river, you can do some Reaper stuff to get us across.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I was worried about the crossing. The last thing I wanted was wasted days traveling upriver to find a land bridge.

Something bigger than me slithered in the branches ten meters above our heads.

“I’m not a fan of whatever that is.” Elise aimed her helmet visor at the source of the movement for half a minute. “Where the hell did it go? Is this entire mission going to be like this? How the hell does all this grow on top of itself.”

“I have no idea. Do you want to stay and make friends with the local wildlife or get the hell out of here?” I asked.

“Sorry. Monsters big enough to eat both of us in one bite are distracting.” She found what passed for an animal trail and ducked into the next section of the jungle.

I followed closer than my infantry training had taught me was tactically sound, accepting that terrain dictated our movements. I doubted there were antipersonnel mines or enemies waiting to drop grenades on us.

“Reaper Cain, Jelly advises that they sustained damage but have escaped the Alon airships for now,” X-37 said. “She will attempt to support us from the air but she makes no promises.”

“Good enough. As long as she’s around to pick us up when this is over. If she can provide overwatch without getting shot down, that would be even better. What happened to the ships pursuing her?”

“They landed and formed infantry squads of some sort,” X-37 said. “Neither Jelly nor Tom were able to find a Union, Sarkonian, Wallach, or Xad equivalent. Commander Peter Tobias did claim to be more than you could guess—I believe this makes him the equivalent of a special operations soldier.”

“I thought he was bragging.” A vine smacked my faceplate, confusing me for several seconds. “Shit, I thought that was an animal.”

“Please watch where you’re going, Reaper Cain.”

“Wow, X. That’s really helpful. What would I do without you?”

“I see the river,” Elise interrupted. “We’ve got a big problem.”

13

The river was at least a half kilometer wide and flowing fast. Entire trees floated downstream, tumbling from time to time under the force of the current. Animals splashed into the water from the shores, but I didn’t get a good look at them.

“X, can you tell me if this is normal, or has there been flooding?” I asked.

“I lack sufficient data, Reaper Cain.”

“Why would that matter?” Elise asked.

“Not sure, but I feel like there could be erosion. Look at those floating trees and roots. If the terrain has been altered suddenly, the animals might behave differently.”

“Excellent point, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said. “Displacement of certain animal populations might cause starvation, leading to increased aggression.”

Elise shook her head. “I’m not worried about animals. Okay, maybe a little. But our big problem is crossing this river. Can Jelly pick us up?”

“I’m on my way, Captain,” Jelly said. “As long as the skies are clear, I should be able to take you across. Deploying you into the jungle closer to ruins will be impossible, however.”

“All right, let’s get this done. We’re waiting on you.” I resisted the urge to say more. If we hadn’t been rushed to an early jump we might’ve landed on the correct side of the river.

Something large splashed into the water near us. I backed up instinctively, as did Elise. Seconds later, we both spotted eyes peeking out of the water, drifting downstream almost like a log.

The animal was five or six meters long, if my estimation was correct. It was hard to say for sure with only the water disturbance to mark where it had been.

“I say we hang back until Jelly is ready to pick us up,” Elise said. “But I’m not sure she can get close enough. These trees go right up to the shore.”

“We’ll need to find a way out into the water. X, run a scan of the river and tell me how deep it is and how far we can wade out for pick up.”

“You want to go into that, with those things in there?” Elise asked.

“If we have to.”

X-37 beeped twice. “It’s difficult to determine depth and topography below the surface. I could give you a very rough estimate, but it doesn’t look promising.”

“I’m flying over the river now, just slightly lower than the trees, Captain. Please be advised I cannot hover for long when I arrive at your location.”

Tom’s voice followed quickly. “I’ll be at the boarding ramp ready to drop it as soon as I see you.”

I made a decision. “We’re going to wade out into the water about fifteen meters. There are some aggressive indigenous lifeforms here, so don’t leave us there up to our necks for too long. Elise doesn’t want to be river monster food.”

“True, but not cool saying it like that, Reaper.”

“Copy that, Hal,” Tom said.

“All right, let’s go. I think I see the Jellybird coming around the bend,” I said.

Elise nodded grimly and started forward. I slipped into the water slightly ahead of her, feeling my metal and ceramic boots sink much further into the mud than I had hoped.

Symbols I hadn’t seen before flashed on my HUD. I tried to decipher them but also to monitor my environment. The water pushed with incredible force, attempting to sweep us downstream. I sank almost to my knees in the muck, which brought the water level close to my shoulders. Elise was covered to her helmet’s chin.

“X, is there a problem?” I asked. “What’s the Archangel unit trying to tell me?”

“It ran a check of your seals, standard procedure. These are made to keep stuff out, like water. Normally your checks involve keeping things in, as in not losing internal atmosphere while doing a spacewalk.”

“Thanks, X.” I paused slightly. “Elise, are you okay?”

“So far I am. I’m not liking this though.”

“Stay close to me in case it gets too deep.”

She groaned. “And what exactly are you gonna do? Carry me? I think I’m going to submerge myself and see how everything works just in case. To be honest, I think going under is inevitable.”

Her head disappeared and when she talked next, her voice was distorted. “Visibility is shit, but I think I’m okay.”

“Try to stay above the water line if you can,” I said.

She didn’t seem to hear me, or if she did, she was unable to decipher the static filled comms. I moved close to her, detecting her silhouette with my infrared optics. It wasn’t perfect, because the water temperature obscured most of what I could see with my advanced optics.

Upriver, and closing on us fast, three shapes swam through the rapidly flowing current. “Jelly, we could use a pickup right now.”

The ship raced toward us then flared her engines to stop abruptly. Water sprayed away from it like great wings. Tom lowered the ramp and tossed me two cables. I caught both of them and handed one to Elise.

The animal shapes accelerated.

“I’m hooked in, Elise, sound off,” I said. “Are you hooked in?”

“It’s not clasping right.” She sounded frustrated.

I splashed toward her and grabbed her around the waist. “Get us out of here, Jelly.”

At first, it didn’t seem like my feet were going to come out of the mud, but we were soon above the water watching a lot more than three of the water creatures converge where we had just been. From this altitude, I could detect almost twenty of them.

“Get us to the other side,” I said. “I want to drop down and wade into shore while all those things are still looking for us.”

“Of course, Captain. Be advised, there is a new squadron of air fighters rapidly closing on our position,” Jelly said.

“Understood. Once we’re down, clear the area and standoff at a safe distance.”

Alon fighters raced along the river, basically following the same path Jelly had used to reach us. Water sprayed behind their engines. I didn’t think they were in the mood to parlay and doubted Tobias was among them. He had something to prove and couldn’t resist taunting me. Which made me wonder where he was.

I tapped Elise on her helmet, then jumped into the river, sinking far deeper into the mud due to the momentum of my poorly considered maneuver.

Elise splashed down seconds behind me. I couldn’t see exactly what happened to her, but I was almost waist deep in mud and floundering forward. X-37 beeped several warnings at me, then placed icons on my HUD to inform me of what was happening above the surface.

I considered the images as I grunted with the effort to move forward, seeking the shore. “I see Jelly’s marker and the Alon fighters, but what are the other dots?”

“Those are more of the water animals that are hunting you,” X-37 said.

“Elise, move your ass!” I found her under the water and shoved her forward. Every stride toward safety cost me a half step back. The current pushed us sideways.

“Almost there,” Elise said. “I can feel the incline. I’ll pull you up once I’m on dry land.”

The bite came from behind me, snapping around my left leg with stunning force. Even in the armor, the compression caused pain. The metal alloys and ceramic reinforcement encasing my leg was nearing collapsed even as I was dragged into the deep.

“Reaper!” Elise shouted.

I controlled the HDK Dominator with my right hand but couldn’t get it pushed up against my attacker. The angle was wrong and the barrel was too long. I activated my arm blade and thrust deep into the monster’s side.

We rolled over and over in the water, and I sensed it was taking me farther from shore. Helmet icons flashed, encouraging me to get my bearings. The software was designed to help me distinguish up from down in all environments. I felt like a fighter pilot caught in an uncontrollable spin.

I kept pushing on the blade, but it didn’t seem to be doing much damage. The thick hide was both flexible and tough. I wasn’t sure I was getting into the muscle or any of the organs. Fighting this thing was like one of those dreams when you try to run but can’t.

“Go for the eyes, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said.

“I can’t even see the eyes!”

“I’m coming, Reaper,” Elise said.

After retracting my arm blade and securing my rifle to my armor, I stuck both hands into the mud and clawed for purchase, trying to keep it from pulling me further under. The thing probably didn’t know it couldn’t drown me, at least not for a long time.

Frustrated, I considered opening my armor and swimming out of it, letting the river monster have it. I wasn’t sure I could survive that course of action, but I was running out of options.

Elise grabbed me, then climbed over me to reach the animal. She punched it once, twice, and three times. Her next move was to grab it around its huge neck and squeeze.

I grabbed the thing’s lashing tail and held onto it, more to prevent it from striking us than to do damage to it.

“I’m never going in the water again,” Elise complained, strain in her voice. She sounded like she was gritting her teeth.

My leg slipped out a hand’s width, not free, but getting closer to escape. I twisted and kicked against the monster with my other leg. Elise screamed as she clamped down even harder.

The creature’s mouth finally popped open like it was giving up. I thrashed through the mud, trying to get to shore. Elise was right behind me. When we finally scrambled our way to the dry land, the fighters were gone and the sun was starting to go down. Not that it mattered, because once we were inside the trees, it would be dark as a nightmare.

The air fighters came back around for another pass right as we disappeared. They opened fire, shredding branches and leaves all around us.

“Pick up the pace, Reaper,” Elise grunted as she shoved a fallen tree branch out of her way and kept moving.

I didn’t respond, but followed in her wake, occasionally turning back to face any type of threat that might be pursuing us. I still didn’t know where Tobias and his team were. Could they be right behind us at this moment? Probably not. But I wasn’t about to be surprised.

We continued for half a kilometer before we stopped to assess the damage we’d taken. My leg armor didn’t seem to be compromised even though the motorized servo unit seemed to be dragging slightly.

“Can you make it work?” Elise opened her visor then quickly shut it as humidity and bugs assaulted her.

“That depends on how long we have to continue and what needs to be done.” I checked the rest of my gear and inventoried my ammunition. At least I was in good shape on that count.

“Do you want to lead or follow?” Elise asked. More and more often, she took the initiative. There were times we didn’t even have to talk during bad scenarios like this.

“I’ll bring up the rear, but don’t get too far ahead. If we lose comms and are too far out of visual range, we’ll never find each other in this jungle.” I looked up, studying the layers of branches and vines that made up the biosphere. What I didn’t want to tell Elise was that this felt like the most hostile environment I’d ever explored. Only the void of space could compete for the feeling of dread overwhelming me.

Elise signaled a halt. “I think we’re being watched.”

“Commandos?” I asked.

“I don’t think so.”

“X, help us out here.” I maximized the vision of my cybernetic eye in the helmet visor but couldn’t see anything conclusive.

“I believe there are humans, or at least humanoid individuals, in this forest and that they are watching you,” X-37 said. “They don’t have any armor or electronic gear, which makes them surprisingly difficult to spot.”

“I’m going to call out to them,” I said, warning Elise that I was about to use my external speakers.

She gave me a hand signal acknowledgment.

“I mean no harm. If you’re watching us, you can show yourself and talk to us,” I said.

Nothing changed in the forest. The glow from the mushrooms was dimmer here, but there were slightly more penetrating the upper canopies of the forest. It was hard for me to tell if it was moonlight or sunlight piercing nature’s ceiling.

“Can you hear me?”

No response.

I spread my arms wide in the universal declaration of peace. Our watchers immediately retreated, hooting and whistling to each other in alarm.

“Why did you challenge them to a fight?” Elise asked.

“I was trying to show I was unarmed.” Her words stung because I immediately realized she was right.

“You looked like you were saying come get some of this, you freaky tree people,” she said, humor in her voice now.

“Whatever, kid. Maybe next time you should be the one to talk to them.”

“I will.” She started hiking up a steep trail. “Can’t do any worse than the famous Reaper did.”

I hesitated, then decided to take the path less traveled in our arguments. “You’re right. I screwed that up.”

Elise laughed. “X, please tell me you recorded that.”

“Every word, Elise. Would you like me to put it to music?” X-37 said.

“Can you do video?”

Her mood was improving but I heard the effort in her voice. The climb grew steeper the farther we progressed. Poor visibility prevented us from knowing how far this would go.

I adjusted my stride, catching up but not crowding her. The world around us was surreal, especially with enhanced optics and a limited artificial intelligence taking snapshots of plants neither of us could identify.

“Where do you think those people are from, X?” I asked.

“I’ve been working on that, scouring your conversations with Tatiana for clues. The theory most likely to be correct is that these are the small percentage of people who have left the cities over the centuries. You can assume they may not even remember where they came from,” X-37 said.

* * *

“Pick up the pace, Elise.” I felt we had been at this for too long. “X, can you reach Jelly for an update on the fighting in the cities?”

“Her last update said the fighting escalated for eighteen point five hours, then declined for half that time. She was unable to identify individuals, and thus cannot tell you if Tatiana or her brothers are still alive. Of the space battle, there is little news. The Alon have done a masterful job of cutting communications between our forces.”

“Fucking fantastic,” I grumbled, looking down the trail we had just climbed.

We bolted up and down animal trails, occasionally climbed trees—and in one instance, up a short waterfall. The terrain was magical, especially when we found any type of clearing. These places were few and far between, usually caused by one of the larger trees falling down to clear out an area to match their size.

“My Archangel LAI is telling me I need a break,” Elise said. “Do you have any new waypoints from the tablet you pilfered.”

“Acquired.”

Elise countered. “Stole, pilfered, robbed, thieved, swiped—“

“No updates from the tablet or anyone else. This is a good spot.” X-37 took all messages and information from my AA unit, causing me to forget Elise had a simple combat only version of the software. “Visibility is better than it has been, and we have the high ground on anyone coming after us. That is all I’m really worried about. If Tobias and his pilot-commandos want to fight, we’ll be ready for them.”

Elise pointed. “I saw some of our friends.”

I studied her for a half second, then the area around us. “Good looking out. I missed them.”

“They’ve been moving ahead of us. I don’t think they mean us harm.” she said. “I wish we could talk to them. Maybe they could provide a guide.”

“Can we catch them?” I asked.

“Anything is possible,” Elise said. “But which one would you want? I barely got a look at them. We have no idea how they’ll react to kidnapping.”

“Agreed. We need better options.” I took the lead, pushing aggressively through the foliage, unable to imagine how impossible it would be to capture one of our watchers without harm. “X, how are we doing for power?”

“That depends on the mission length. Without any form of recharging, you should have a couple of days,” X-37 said.

I reviewed what I knew about primitive civilizations and started looking for traps. With no infrastructure or supply lines, these people had to be hunters or gatherers. I hadn’t seen any weapons, but it would be a mistake to assume they had nothing better than sticks and rocks to attack us. No matter how long they had been out here, they had come from a relatively advanced civilization with real weapons. Could they maintain them out here? That was anyone’s guess.

One of them appeared just for a moment and I was gratified to be right. A young man, or possibly woman, hesitated at the top of the trail. No scan showed the person. I suspected the garments were a dark colored silk dyed in a pattern that blended well with the environment. The silhouette included the outline of a shotgun over one shoulder.

“Did you see him?” I asked Elise.

“I think it’s a her.” She moved up beside me.

We checked in all directions, seeking more of this band of local people. Nothing. If they were still here, they were perfectly concealed—not even betraying heat signature in the confusion of the biosphere. I listened for Tobias and his commandos but came up with nothing.

“X, can you tell me if we’re still heading in the right direction?”

“I can, Reaper Cain. While the flora and fauna makes land navigation nearly impossible for anyone relying on visual data, the compass readings are very consistent. I’m also able to determine elevation to a high degree of accuracy and have a good topographical map of this area. In your HUD view, it would be hard to decipher,” X-37 said. “My advice is to head for the waypoints I give you and not get killed.”

“That works for me.” We started off again with me in the lead. Almost half an hour later, I saw the figure again and agreed with Elise that it was a young woman. This time, however, I also detected two others moving ahead of us but slightly off to our flanks.

Watching for these additional people as I jogged up the trail, I never saw the pit. Branches and leaves covered it. Had I watched my feet, it would’ve been a simple thing to detect. But I had taken the bait and so had Elise.

The fall was short compared to other headfirst dives I’d taken. I tucked imperfectly into a role and managed to land flat on my back—just in time to see Elise balancing on her tiptoes at the edge of the pit, windmilling her arms for balance, then pitching forward.

I sprang to my feet and put my back to Elise’s as we searched high and low for an attack. Holding this position, we turned in a circle, each of us studying the small space with our HDK rifles pulled in as tight as we could to avoid scraping them on the wet clay walls. I glanced down and saw our footsteps were smashing sharpened stakes into kindling.

“Nice,” Elise said. “I can’t believe you fell for that.”

“Yeah, I know. Thanks for following me down. It’s good to know you would rather be at the bottom of a killing pit then up there guarding the perimeter while I climb out.”.

“Sarcasm detected,” Elise and X-37 said at the same time. “Which of us is climbing out first?”

“I’ll go first. If I need to pull you out, I have more weight to anchor my feet,” I said.

She put away her rifle, leaned her back against the wall so that she was in a sitting position, and braced for me to stand on her legs as the first step in my ascent. My second step was on her right shoulder, and I heard her grunt as she braced to take my weight. The armor made us both stronger, but it also made us both heavier.

Climbing out of the simple trap was problematic but not impossible. My gauntlets dug grooves into the wall, causing more damage to the root tangled surface than they found places to grab. Eventually, I was on the top.

Crouching low, I pulled my HDK Dominator to my shoulder and turned in a quick circle to search for enemies. This time the infrared part of my enhanced optics detected a full tribe of people watching—some from the trees and others from ground level.

Archangel armor had repelling lines for vertical insertions, normally into buildings or parts of ships during a boarding action. I moved away from the pit until I knew I had the best footing possible, then threw Elise the line. She hooked it to her armor and climbed up, with me pulling on her when needed. I had destroyed most of the wall during my assent, tearing apart the best places to hold onto my weight. Teamwork was definitely useful here.

When we were both out, someone whistled like a bird. Several other watchers answered the call.

“They’re all around us,” Elise said.

“Not surprising. We are in their world.”

“How do we convince them to talk to us?” Elise asked.

“I’m not sure we can. That sort of thing takes time and special training. We need to just follow the waypoints and find the ruins before someone else gets to the Black Phoenix.” I thought about all the other things we needed to do. Finding Hannah, Henshaw, and Bug were high on the list. For about three seconds, I imagined Tobias reaching them first and taking them hostage or killing them out of pure meanness.

“Let’s get moving. I’ll lead for the next hour, then we can rest and switch places,” I said.

“That works for me, Reaper.”

14

When X-37 told me how long we’d been navigating the jungle, I cursed under my breath. He didn’t have updates on Tatiana or the other people in the city, nor had the Jellybird been in contact with my LAI for the last three hours.

The landscape climbed higher and higher as we ran along trails and occasionally climbed a rock face. The river was behind us, but I thought there would be more waterways between us and our destination because we saw waterfalls every few kilometers during our trek.

Elise stopped at the tree line and I joined her. The scene was possibly more beautiful than any place had ever been except for the planet where clouds of solar powered butterflies had tried to nuke us. Animals moved through high grass and between saplings. A cooled lava field broke up the landscape, explaining why there weren’t many trees for the next few kilometers.

“That’s a valley out of one of Tom’s books,” Elise commented. “Very picturesque.”

Sunlight cut down through high clouds. The sky was so blue I wanted to touch it to see if it was real. “This is the first clearing we’ve encountered without a waterfall.”

“Do you think we will see any of the locals?”

“Only if they want us to,” I said. “And if they have any more good traps they want us to fall into.”

I was worried about Tobias and his commandos getting the advantage, and also about the airships that we saw more and more frequently every time there was a gap in the trees. The Alon were rapidly dominating this planet and our mission felt almost pointless now. What could possibly be gained from our quest? It was like we had never escaped the Union, except these assholes were even worse than the corrupt government we had worked so hard to escape.

“Let’s separate and cross as quickly as we can,” I said. “I have a bad feeling.”

Elise moved far to my right. “So do I.”

I veered to the left, following a cooled lava flow that was worn smooth in places from animal traffic.

We had been on the ground long enough to recognize most of the natural sounds, even if I didn’t have a name for them. This time, when the Alon ships came, they were easy to hear.

The sound of turbines screaming above the trees alerted me long before I saw the attack. At the same time, I detected movement on the ground and realized this was a coordinated strike.

“We’ve got threats in the air and on the dirt, Elise,” I said, glad to see she was already moving toward the tree line and cover. Even though this section of the forest was less dense than what we had first traversed, there were trunks thicker than a shuttle or two. Fewer and farther between, they had to be sought out, but when found provided protection from most small arms I’d encountered in the past.

I knew from recent experience that the Alon small arms weapons were more powerful than what the Union issued regular troops. I’d also been around the galaxy enough to know they would probably surprise me when it was least convenient for my survival.

The airships opened fire, strafing my position and Elise’s diverging course. Pieces of plants and chunks of lava rock blasted into the air. I didn’t take any direct hits and couldn’t see whether or not Elise had made it to her position. We were on opposite sides of the clearing now, which could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how things went.

Close behind the first wing of airships came bombers, dropping incendiary devices that caught everything they touched on fire.

I worked my way from tree to tree, heading toward our next waypoint. Fire spread behind me, exacerbated by the chemicals they used to burn damp, green wood and anything else it touched.

Ahead of me, the commando squad opened fire from several different positions. I couldn’t tell which one was Peter Tobias, but I was sure these were his soldier-pilots. And their weapons didn’t disappoint me.

The center of the massive tree was impenetrable, but when I leaned closer to its outer circumference, there was less protection. Several of the bullets penetrated this thinner area, spraying sap covered wood chips and glancing off my Archangel armor. Uninjured, I reminded myself to be careful. Overconfidence was a good way to get killed.

“Elise, I’ve encountered hostile infantry,” I said.

“We have so much in common. I’m also getting shot at. Thanks for asking.” She reloaded and fired a short burst. “I moved quick enough to get around most of the jerks trying to stop me, but now they’re firing in all directions, which is a little bit disappointing, actually. I thought they were pros.”

“Keep moving toward the waypoint and we will link up,” I said, moving laterally and firing my HDK dominator at my closest enemy.

A pair of them came at me. I waited. A second pair emerged on my flank, obviously part of a preplanned attack.

I held my fire. Finally, a third pair emerged to close the pincer maneuver around me.

I rolled out from cover, shooting two in their throats. They went down on their backs and flailed about in pain. That confirmed the armor was better than a regular Alon trooper was issued. Even though this version appeared lighter, it could take a bullet to the throat and keep them alive.

I knew there was a big difference between surviving a gunshot wound and being functional afterward, no matter what type of protection you were wearing, so I kept giving them little, high velocity gifts.

A bullet caromed off my helmet. I turned and killed the man who was shooting at me, then his friend because why not.

The other two chased me as I ran through the forest, changing course at random and trying to confuse them.

They caught up just as I dodged behind one of the larger trees in this area. I stopped, reversed course, and snapped out my Reaper blade. Thrusting my arm forward, I caught the first man in his visor and punched through into his face.

The other one sprayed me with gunfire that knocked me sideways despite the weight and durability of my Archangel gear.

Dropping to my stomach, I rolled, kicking at his legs as I went, hoping to trip him but missing. He lost sight of me but came forward, undeterred by the death of his friends. Maybe he was amped up on battle adrenaline, or maybe he was just one of the most disciplined killers I’d yet faced.

About the time I thought he was going to catch me, the elevation changed dramatically and I fell about twenty feet onto a mossy flower bed. He jumped after me, landing right where I had been before I rolled sideways, anticipating he would try to crush me.

I spun and came up on one knee, pulling my HDK Fury off my back and opening fire. The rounds blew the man apart. One of his arms spiraled into the trees. Both of his legs fell in separate directions.

“That was overkill,” X-37 said.

“Sue me.” I jumped up, looking for Elise.

The man I had just slaughtered with the Fury was too much of a mess to examine, so I found one of the other downed pilot-soldiers and did a brief inventory of their gear to see if I could learn anything.

X-37 recorded what I saw and began his own analysis. The armor was soft and pliable, but very effective. Only a few of my rounds had penetrated and I was surprised I had been able to punch through the visor with my blade. Apparently, I had really put some attitude into that strike.

I considered taking the weapons, but they were unfamiliar and would only bog me down. I tried to open one of the magazines to get an idea of the exact size of the ammunition within, but it was a one-piece construction that didn’t seem meant for reloading. Their magazines, just like their batteries, came preloaded from the factory.

“That’s one way to do it,” I said.

“From a logistical standpoint, Reaper Cain, there are several advantages to that method. Uniformity and ease of distribution being two,” X-37 said.

The only thing I noticed about these commandos was that they weren’t big, even in their armor. I suppose that made sense for a pilot. It made me wonder what their leader, Tobias, would be like when we eventually faced off. I didn’t want the confrontation, nor did I have time for it, but I knew he wouldn’t stop until we’d gone head-to-head.

The only other thing I noticed about the pilot’s body armor was the deep magenta color, too stylish for my taste but subtle enough to blend into the shadows. “What do you think about that?”

X-37 took a moment to respond. “The color? It is probably the mark of their elite status, perhaps a cultural thing.”

“Elise, can you read me?” I asked.

“I’m stuck, Reaper. Apparently, they saw me as the bigger threat because there are at least two squads surrounding me. They can’t get me, but I can’t get out of this grove.”

I checked my HUD. “I have your position and I’m coming. I’ll lay down some Fury on their northern perimeter and you can make a break for it in whichever direction works.”

“That’ll be perfect, Reaper. I don’t mean to be a nag, but sooner would be better than later.”

I moved into position and X-37 gave me bad news, as he was prone to do.

“I believe two full platoons of Alon infantry have arrived in the area to supplement the commando’s attack,” X-37 said. “They will arrive at this location in less than thirty minutes.”

“Elise, I’m set up. We have new friends coming into the area. At least two platoons of Alon reinforcements. I’m going to hit them hard but won’t be able to do it for long. So don’t screw around. Get the hell out of there and head for the waypoint.”

“Copy that. I’m ready when you are.”

I opened fire into the backs of several commandos. It was my least favorite type of combat even though it was what I was trained for. I had no reason to like these soldiers or show them mercy, but I was tired of killing people even when they were trying to kill me.

A squad of my enemies didn’t realize I was attacking during those microseconds and fired on Elise with rockets. My hesitation, if it could be called that, evaporated. Attack me, fine. Attack Elise or other people important to me, and it was game on. I was going to win no matter what I had to do.

I stayed longer than I should have, spraying twenty round bursts at each of their positions to keep them off balance.

“Elise is on the move, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said, sounding as nervous as an LAI could. “You must abandon this position and get clear of the area immediately.”

I stopped firing, locked the Fury to my back, and pulled the Dominator into position. I sprinted, weaving around the largest trees I could find to provide some cover. They came after me, but not quickly enough. Their angry rounds destroyed the jungle around me.

I shouted for Elise to keep going. The trees were thinning out and I was afraid that we were going to run into another river. If we got trapped between our enemies and something we couldn’t cross, it was over.

“What do you see up there, Elise?”

I heard her breathing for a few strides before she answered. “We’re coming to another river, but you probably already knew that. I don’t think it’s as wide, but we’re going to need a way to cross it.”

I asked X-37 to give me some options, then stopped to fire back at our pursuers, just to give them something to think about and slow them down.

The commandos returned fire, but they were taking their time, probably waiting for their reinforcements to move up and flank us. If they did the reconnaissance properly, they knew they had a chance to catch us in a bad spot and wanted to set all of the pieces in place for a perfect execution of their plan.

“I’m at the water’s edge. I think I have a way across, but you’re not going to like it and I’m not sure it will work,” Elise said.

I turned and moved toward her. A branch smacked me in the faceplate. Normally I would’ve brushed it away, but I was doing too many things at once: handling my weapon, moving, and thinking about what we needed to do to stay alive.

“Talk to me. Tell me what you’ve got. We won’t have a lot of time for discussion when I get there. Our friends are not far behind us.”

Elise sent a few low-resolution pictures with her answer. “The river is not nearly as wide, but very difficult to cross, I think. It looks deeper. The drop off is much more pronounced. There are vines stretching across it, however. Kind of like a rope bridge.”

“Do you think they’ll handle our weight?” I asked, spotting her and the water now.

“If we pick the right one,” she said. “One of them is holding up a tree which has to be way heavier than we are.”

I joined her then and surveyed the waterscape ahead of us. It wasn’t nearly as wide as the one we had already crossed, but it was significant and I agreed with her that it looked very deep according to the way the ground sloped into it. I also saw the vines.

They’d grown together in huge tangles, sometimes dragging along dead trees or branches with them as they changed over time. It was an interesting spectacle. With imagination, it could seem man-made or at least encouraging.

“What do you think?” Elise asked.

I stared at the scene for almost fifteen seconds, taking in all of the details. “It reminds me of when we were separated on Dreadmax. I had to crawl along the cable across one of the exhaust vents; probably the least favorite thing I’ve ever done.”

“You’re afraid of heights. Always forget.”

“Everyone’s afraid of something,” I said. “I’m not really afraid of heights, I just don’t like them.”

“Whatever, Reaper. You don’t have to try to impress me.” She laughed a little bit. “We better get moving.”

“I’ll go first, so we can test the weight limitation. If I can get across, then you should be able to. You’re slightly lighter than I am.”

“With the armor, there is very little weight difference,” X-37 interrupted. “I would recommend that you go first so you can cover her from the other side with your chain gun.”

Elise was listening, but I couldn’t read her reaction through her helmet visor.

I knew all the reasons I should go first, but I didn’t want to. It felt like abandoning Elise to Tobias and his goons.

“You go first, kid. I’ll catch up.”

She surprised me by not arguing, already in motion before I was done speaking.

She climbed onto the first tangle of vines and moved tentatively forward. I wasn’t worried about the strength of the vine, but what they were attached to. It was hard to tell where they were anchored. Far ahead of her, there was some sort of legless reptile twisted around the natural bridge. It looked hungry and had weird eyes that gave me the creeps.

“The vine cluster is stretching and sagging,” Elise said. “But it feels pretty solid. I’m not sure if it can take both of us so you may have to wait for me to get all the way across or find another.”

“I’ll wait until you get across. Then you can cover me.” I searched for and located a position to guard the vine bridge. My augmented vision helped me see movement, but our enemies held their fire—probably waiting for the rest of their units.

Time passed far too slowly. One of the commandos took a shot, striking the edge of my helmet. I ducked, moved, and set up in a new position. It took me almost a full minute to find out where the shot had come from, a task that was only possible with X-37’s help.

Once I had him in my sights, I shot him once with my HDK Dominator. His body rolled from a wide branch he’d been using as a perch.

As the others adjusted their positions, a few took potshots at us and missed. I thought I heard Tobias shouting at someone and realized he had to be close.

“I’m set, Reaper,” Elise said.

“I’m on my way.” Weapons lockdown and armor check one last time to make sure everything was sealed up in case I fell in the water, I started to shimmy across the line bridge. It did feel a lot like Dreadmax, but this time I knew if I hit the water, I’d be attacked by river creatures with jaws powerful enough to pry me out of my armor.

The thought of sinking in the mud also encouraged me to hold the vines as tightly as possible. I moved quickly, taking risks, but also making sure I always had a firm handhold.

Looking down, I saw more of the river creatures. These were smaller but more numerous. Water frothed around them. Bullets zipped past me from another direction.

“My analysis of the situation, Reaper Cain, suggests you should climb faster.”

“Thanks, X.” I pulled myself hand over hand along the vines, clenching my legs together to keep me from falling. A bullet struck me in the side, causing me to swing and nearly fall. I writhed in agony as X-37 gave me a damage report.

“The integrity of your Archangel armor has been significantly reduced due to the many strikes it has sustained since arriving on the planet.” X-37 presented supporting documentation.

Sarcasm swelled in my mind, but my mouth wouldn’t work. I had felt every one of the hits. My body was bruised all over. It took effort to hold onto the vine even with the assistance of my gauntlets. Soon I would be dangling by my cybernetic arm, unable to pull myself forward with the other.

Focusing on the task and nothing else, I reached the shore and dropped into sandy mud. I found purchase with one boot, compacting the surface until I had traction. My other boot shot straight into the slimy sand with almost no resistance. Fighting free of this awkward posture was probably the most undignified thing I’d ever had to do.

Elise crouched further inland, covering me with her rifle.

“Don’t. Say. Anything.” I wasn’t in the mood for jokes.

“Wasn’t going to.” She was all business.

Belly crawling until I could find a good place to stand, I eventually came to my knees and then to my feet. Gunfire came from the same side of the river we were on, but from upstream. The curve of the river gave them a clear shot on our position.

“Time to get out of here,” I said, leading the way into the trees. One last round struck me in the ass, ringing the armor plate like a gong.

Elise laughed maniacally. “Come on, Reaper. That was funny!”

“Hilarious.”

15

“Do you smell smoke?” I asked, looking for the source. It smelled like fuel exhaust to me, but I wasn’t sure. The last thing I wanted to be caught in was a forest fire if I was wrong.

Elise stopped and looked toward the sky. “Whatever it is, it can’t be the Alon. Their ships were better than anything I’ve seen. I wonder who would win, the Union or the Alon.”

“Don’t care.”

“Neither do I,” Elise said. “But don’t you wonder about stuff like that? And how cool would that be if they were off fighting each other instead of bothering us?”

“It would be very convenient, Elise,” X-37 said.

I held up one fist. “Quiet, I hear a jet engine.”

Seconds passed, then Elise pointed. “From that way. Whatever it is, it sounds broken down.”

A Yansden ship came into view. My first instinct was that it was going down. It seemed to list sideways as though affected by the wind, something few modern ships had a problem with.

What really caught my attention was the paint job—dark gray with two red stripes—just like the distinctive design of the Kalon Regulars’ armor. In a side door there was a gunner on a crude machine gun and men dressed in full armor matching their ship.

“I don’t think they see us,” Elise said.

We inched backward into the shadows of the tree line to be sure.

“There are a lot more places to land here,” I said. “I wish I knew why they were here. I don’t want to get sidetracked again. And I’m not sure they wouldn’t be hostile. It’s too soon to count them as true allies.”

“They’re not the Alon.” Elise checked her HDK Dominator out of habit rather than necessity.

“Let’s keep moving. X, if you can hack into their communications and tell me what they’re up to, that would be great,” I said.

Closer to our position, eyes watched us—shining dimly in the shadows with unwavering intensity. When they blinked, I knew they weren’t hiding anymore.

Elise laughed. “Some of those are the animal’s eyes. Look how they move around so quickly.”

“You’re getting tired, kid. Take some nutrients and try to focus.” I felt my own fatigue and pain. With it often came the ability to laugh at the absurd or the trivial. “Let’s pick up the pace. Get some distance from this place. The Yansden ship might’ve seen us, and Tobias could be about to spring another attack.”

Her mood remained positive, almost energized by the gathering crowd of watchers. She waved, then gave me a look I thought was meant to make me feel guilty. “Come on, Reaper. What’s it going to hurt?”

At first, her insistence confused me. Then I realized that one of them was waving back at us from a branch too high for us to reach. I waved, not sure if the way I did it was as welcoming as Elise’s version.

“Good job, Reaper. You’ve got a real future in the diplomatic corps,” Elise said, laughing, but also getting back to work, heading up the trail with renewed vigor.

I marched after her doggedly. From time to time, I checked our flanks and only found glimpses of the people I was starting to think of as the locals. Their presence didn’t exactly put me at ease most of the time. Whenever I glimpsed one of their shotguns, or the one silhouette that seemed to be carrying a long rifle, I grew tense. It was against my nature to accept being under continual surveillance.

We’d gone almost half a kilometer when I caught another whiff of the Yansden ship and heard it flying overhead, probably conducting overwatch for the team they had sat on the ground. I mentioned this to Elise, just to see if we agreed on what we were facing.

“Are you sure they put down a ground team?” she asked, as though checking off a list before presenting her conclusion.

“About eighty or ninety percent sure. That stinking hunk of junk is holding pretty close, and whenever it veers away, I suspect that’s from the faster, more mechanically sound Alon support craft patrolling the air space.”

“I can see that. Makes sense.” Elise crouched near a fallen tree and peeked into its rotted out hunk to make sure nothing was inside.

I held my own position, looking back the way we had come. “Speaking of overwatch, have you heard from Jelly, X?”

“She’s being extra cautious,” X-37 said. “Unless you need her direct support, Tom and Jelly decided to observe from a much higher altitude than the other ships in this region.”

“She didn’t happen to give you an update the last time we had contact?” I asked.

“Her assessment of the new vehicle is that it is, in fact, a Yansden vessel. There have been others like it deployed recently, mostly used in ill-fated missions against the invaders. She ascended into the upper atmosphere and scanned most of this continent on a cursory level and believes there are at least two other Yansden ships of the sword searching wilderness zones.”

Elise pulled back from her search and gave me a thumbs up. “This is clear. I was listening to X. Sounds like Loren and his Regulars are searching for the ruins. I wonder if they still think the Black Phoenix is a ship. They really need a new one.”

“I’ll be sure to ask next time we run into each other,” I said. “Regardless, his teams are not here on a rescue mission or to help us.”

“Agreed.” Elise moved to a fork in the trail, considered the waypoints X-37 was broadcasting for us, and went left.

I followed, walking backward almost as much as I walked forward. “I wonder if the Yansden and Alon teams know about each other.”

“They have to,” Elise said. “Watch this hole, it’s right in the middle of the trail. Thought it was one of the hunting traps, but it seems it’s just erosion.”

I stepped over the hole, glancing into it but not really caring what was inside. “What do you mean they have to?”

“Their ships have to have spotted each other, even if they’re not fighting, which makes me wonder if they are on the same side now. Could Yansden have surrendered already?” Elise asked.

“It’s more likely the Alon think they can take out the smoking junkyard with wings anytime they want,” I said. “It gives away Loren’s people’s general location the way it is orbiting them.”

“I don’t know, Reaper. Your buddy Tobias and his goons didn’t seem to have that much self-restraint,” Elise said.

We moved through a particularly thick section of jungle, and then out onto a field of tall grass that seemed out of character with the region. There were even more types of flowers and trees around the edges, and more of the dried lava flows dividing up the scene.

“Jelly sent me an update and asked me to relay it,” X-37 said. “The security encryption is better this way.”

“Give it to us,” I said.

“The locals have not surrendered but are being badly treated by the invasion forces. The fighting has intensified hour by hour. From all reports, the Yansden military, their elite units, and the compound forces are fighting as one unified people even if their organization and tactics are barely above those of a mob,” X-37 said.

I signaled for Elise to continue as we listened.

“The Jellybird is perilously low on fuel. Atmospheric operations are quite demanding,” X-37 said. “They have to fly to another continent where there is a refueling station safe enough to use. Only the smallest and most insignificant settlements on the planet are untouched by the violence. The fleet battle, however, has settled into a blockade rather than a fight.”

Elise and I halted to perform the Archangel’s recommended function check. My results were a joke, but Elise’s unit seemed to be performing much better. She’d been struck several times by small arms fire and had escaped getting mauled by River monsters.

We took nutrients and watched the sky, noticing the truth of X-37’s update. The fighting about the planet seemed to have found an almost organized pattern of attack and defend.

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing, Reaper?” Elise asked.

I shrugged. “It’s bad. The Alon have time on their side and the advantage of numbers. They’re slowing down and tightening their stranglehold on the system.”

“So we’re screwed,” Elise said matter-of-factly.

“Yep.”

16

We abandoned our debate about the intentions of our enemies. I felt like we were getting close to the ruins. The terrain was changing, although night was falling once again. Elise, for her part, held up well. We hadn’t been on a lot of missions that required so much time hiking through dangerous wilderness. It was easy to forget how young and full of curiosity she was. Once, I caught her examining a flower from a bush that snapped at her faceplate.

Twilight fell and I waited for mushroom fields to glow, but we were no longer in the darkest part of the jungle. Moon and starlight made its way down through the branches. There were more birds and less of the legless lizard things twisting around vines. One of them that remained hissed at us before slithering away.

We came upon a complex web of silk strands stretching between two trees nearly three meters apart. A hundred meters farther up the animal trail was another, then another. The creatures who had made the webs didn’t make an appearance.

Elise stopped, looking at her feet.

“What is it?”

“The trail is getting harder and harder to follow and I think I found some bones,” Elise said.

A commotion rippled through the biosphere and I realized our watchers were leaving. And not just leaving, but running in a large group, betraying their numbers for the first time. There had been over a hundred gathered around us during our trek but now they were sprinting away from us.

“What’s that about?” Elise asked. “Should we be worried?”

I hesitated, checking to see if X-37 had displayed anything on my HUD that might be helpful in waiting for him to comment on the situation, but he didn’t. My instincts told me the tribespeople were running toward something, not away from a threat. Problem was, I didn’t know how to explain this rationally to X-37 or Elise.

“Talk to me, Reaper,” Elise said, gripping her weapon tightly.

“They’re responding to something, not running away. Don’t ask me how I know that. It’s a gut instinct.”

“Factoring your irrational gut instinct into my analysis now,” X-37 said. “I have no evidence to prove or disprove your theory.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “We’ve got a job to do. How close are we to the ruins, X?”

“Your progress has been less than ideal, but you are moving toward your objective. This region of the jungle is becoming more mountainous and there is a possibility you may see the ruins within the next several hours,” X-37 said. “You may continue to travel in a direct line but following the human watchers may lead you to easier areas to traverse. If they are in distress, it might be worth helping them and acquiring a guide.”

“What’re the chances of that happening? They haven’t exactly stepped forward to give us directions.”

“Eleven percent,” X-37 said.

“Then what the hell are we waiting for?” Elise joked.

“Can either of you tell me why the trail ended abruptly?” I looked into a new area that had more and more of the beautiful silk webs strung from tree to tree. Insects and small animals had gotten stuck in them.

“I don’t know,” Elise said. “But this place gives me the creeps.”

Studying the intensely dark beauty of the scene before us, I admitted the same feeling was bothering me. “There doesn’t seem to be a lot of movement ahead.”

“Recommendation: go around the webs and utilize whatever trails the human watchers have created in this area,” X-37 said. “I’ve been counting an increase in the number of watchers for the last several hours and believe we must be nearing their settlement. The chances of finding someone who still remembers a dialect we can decipher increases with the size of their population.”

“Okay, X. Let’s go find their little tree village or whatever but were not spending a lot of time there. If they don’t produce a translator right away, we just keep moving to our objective,” I said.

The pre-dawn sky was clear, so I was surprised to smell smoke.

“Are you getting that?” Elise asked. “I think this is real smoke. Maybe we shouldn’t go this way. I’m not about getting caught in a forest fire.”

I got a sinking feeling I knew what we were heading toward. “The tribesmen were attacked, probably by the Kalon Regulars or the Alon pilot-soldiers. Take your pick. Neither would surprise me.”

Elise didn’t argue or comment. We had stayed alert during our track from the river, but now we took it up a notch, ready for a fight. A half kilometer later, the smoke was thick enough to see. Before long, I saw trees burning and heard animals darting through the underbrush to escape the sound of gun fire.

“Those are Alon guns,” I said. “I’ll lead.”

“Okay.” Elise fell back into a modified flanking position.

Her choice was perfect, causing me to wonder if she’d learned more from my rambling lectures than I realized or if she had been studying on her own. She was a natural at many things, and she read and studied holo-histories whenever there was downtime.

It didn’t matter. If we had to mix it up with a bunch of tribe murdering thugs, there was no one I’d rather partner up with. Path and Briggs would be welcome additions, but when it came down to it, this was about Elise and me taking on the galaxy.

“What?” Elise asked. “You’re acting weird.”

“Brace yourself for what we’re about to see.” If there was a way for me to spare Elise this tragedy, I would have taken that option in a heartbeat. But there wasn’t.

We arrived at the entrance to a valley marked by two ancient trees surrounded by dried lava flow. There was a rise to the trail, and then a dip down into a valley filled with smoke.

“We’ll need to rely on our optics,” I said.

Elise stepped up to my side to see the scene. “Copy that.”

Her voice was subdued, her manner watchful. We descended into the aftermath of the raid carefully. I wouldn’t put it past Tobias to have attacked, then stepped back to watch our reaction. I had a feeling ambushes were definitely in our future.

I’d expected to find the tribesmen living in tree houses, or maybe warrens of caves cut into the increasingly frequent lava rocks. Instead, I found huts on poles as though this area was prone to flooding. We moved along a stream bed covered with smooth rocks of many colors.

A quick glance to the right and left revealed where the high watermark was, and it coincided with the way the structures had been placed.

“They didn’t burn all of the homes.” Elise swept her weapon left to right, then right to left as she scanned for survivors or enemies.

“I don’t see any bodies,” I said.

“Maybe they all escaped.” Elise sounded much younger than she had for a long time.

There was a longhouse, also up on stilts, in the center of the settlement. It didn’t take long to observe bullet holes around the doorways and the effects of grenades that had been thrown inside.

“Stay here and watch for more. I’ll take a look,” I said.

Elise didn’t reply but merely did what she was told.

It wasn’t an empty order meant to spare her the sight of the carnage, or at least it wasn’t all a contrivance. One of us needed to watch for a second attack. And I didn’t see any reason for her to witness the dead bodies of old people and children, because that was probably who had been in this during the attack. Those young enough to fight would have been sent out to defend the place.

Inside, it was bad. I saw evidence of a desperate struggle to survive despite catastrophic wounds. But it wasn’t as horrific as I had feared because these people apparently had an escape plan or were just naturally quick.

“I’m detecting the use of first-aid materials,” X-37 said.

I had noticed the same thing, and remarked privately that some of it had to belong to the Alon but others looked more organic.

“These people aren’t stupid,” I said. “It looks like they really know how to survive in the jungle.”

“My analysis also suggests that the Alon rendered aid to some of their victims,” X-37 said.

“Maybe,” I said. “But that’s not gonna win them many points with me. Just because they have a shadow of a conscience doesn’t mean we can forgive this.”

“I agree completely,” X-37 said. “The Alon are not to be trusted and their war crimes are unforgivable.”

I climbed out of the longhouse, nodding to Elise when she looked at me expectantly. Neither of us discussed the details, but we both knew this raid had been unnecessary and probably intended to send a message, perhaps to draw me off balance.

“Are we going to find a guide, Reaper?” Elise asked.

“Not this time, kid. Let’s move out. There’s nothing we can do here.” I took the lead, fantasizing about running into the people who’d done this while they were smoking and joking around a campfire with their backs to me. In a situation like that, my growing aversion to a merciless surprise attack wouldn’t be an issue.

* * *

We spotted the ruins shortly after a meal break we had put off for too long. The sight of the murdered villagers had rendered us speechless and pushed us to greater efforts. Once, a man watched us climb a difficult set of ridges but said nothing. He looked sad and I wondered where the rest of our watchers had gone.

“Just keep moving,” I said. “Don’t worry about him. He was probably sent to keep an eye on us while everyone else moves to another valley.”

“I really want to find who did this,” Elise grumbled as she came up after me.

At the far end of the valley were two man-made structures. They were extremely old and probably laser cut to very precise design standards. Weather had eroded them and nature had grown through any place there was a crack, but I could tell this was a very old site. Beyond it, I suspected, there would be buildings and vaults and hopefully the Black Phoenix.

There was no sign of Hannah or the others.

I hesitated right before the summit of a hill we’d been climbing. Something wasn’t right. Nature sounds had been returning after we left the village but now it was deathly quiet. I held up my left hand, palm facing outward to indicate possible danger. If I’d made a fist, it would’ve been an instruction to freeze and not move.

The two of us proceeded cautiously, on high alert now. There wasn’t much cover or concealment here. Half a kilometer in the distance, however, there was plenty of cover. “We’re at the bottom of the kill box. Spread out.”

The attack came as soon as our course diverged from one another. Two ranging shots whipped by me, and another tore past Elise. Bright orange tracer rounds confirmed our location and distance to the teams that were about to unleash hell on us.

Elise sprinted to my right, climbing a hill of black, porous rock that had once been liquid. I went the other way, seeking a low area that I might use as a trench if the enemy fire became really heavy.

Our enemies, probably Tobias and his special unit, fired up two crew served machine guns—one for each of us. With no time to check on Elise, I ran and dove into my very shallow hole.

“Where did a light squad of pilots get a gun like that?” I asked, not really thinking.

“I imagine it was taken from one of their ships,” X-37 said. “The ditch you have chosen to hide in will not be an effective cover for long. I am reviewing available data for a better option. Please try not to jerk your gaze around. The erratic visual input takes longer for me to sort and analyze.”

Elise sounded out of breath when she hailed me. “These are definitely not the Kalon Regulars.”

I crawled on my belly the length of the eroded section I was hiding in. Every time I moved, I felt incredibly exposed. Bullets, some of them tracers, shot past my location only inches above me. At first it was only three or four at a time, then it seemed like their entire squad was firing on my position.

“What’s your status, Elise?” I asked.

“Better than yours,” she answered.

“I could use some help. Can you move into position to flank them?”

She took her time answering and sounded calm when she did. “It’s going to take me several minutes to work into a better location, and if they see what I’m doing, they’ll probably try to block me.”

“Do your best,” I said. “And you might think about how to complete this mission on your own because I’m not in a good spot here.”

“So dramatic for a Reaper.”

“We’ll see how you do when it’s your turn.” I came to the end of the ditch and had no other options.

Staying low, I twisted onto one side and wiggled the HDK Fury from my back. My only option was to shoot my way out of the corner I’d crawled into, but I didn’t expect success. Just getting in a useful position was almost impossible in the tiny space I had available for protection.

Lying there, I almost felt like I had already been killed. A bullet ricocheted off my shoulder, which was now the highest part of my body.

The rhythm of the attacks changed, and I guessed they were moving up, probably in teams of two or three as they covered each other.

“How close are you going to allow them, Reaper Cain?” X-37 asked.

“Not sure,” I answered. “Elise, where are you?”

“I had to deal with something, and by that, I mean I had to bayonet one of these jerks in his throat,” she said. “I need another minute, and then I can provide some overwatch. It won’t last long, because once I start shooting at them, they have more than enough manpower to send the squad after me and that will drive me out of position.”

“Good enough. I don’t plan on staying here any longer than I have to.” I still wasn’t sure I could make it to a better position of cover. I was actually missing the giant trees and dark gloomy landscape.

The shooting stopped and something beeped in my earpiece.

“Commander Peter Tobias is attempting to communicate with you by radio,” X-37 advised. “Shall I open a link to him?”

“Will it buy us time or get us killed?” I already knew Tobias’s weakness. The man had a vendetta against me and liked to run his mouth.

“You must not allow them to get any closer, Reaper Cain.”

I peeked up from my hiding space, barely cresting the lip of the pathetic trench I was lying in. The position hurt my neck and my weapons were hard to access in the awkward position. “Stop right there! We can talk but tell your people not to come any closer.”

The squad halted, jolted forward a step, then concealed themselves.

“They are stopped, Reaper. You must surrender,” Tobias said. “Not that I want you to. I’d rather you fight to the death. But I have my orders.”

“That’s a very convincing speech. Good thing you have witnesses to testify,” I said.

“I’m almost in position,” Elise whispered on our channel. “The angle isn’t great. Don’t expect miracles.”

“Every day is a miracle,” I said. Then, switching channels, I addressed the Alon commander.

“Your attempts at humor are admirable, but foolish. If you don’t surrender, I will be forced to attack,” Tobias said.

I shifted my grip on the HDK Fury, attempting to get my legs closer to my body so I could twist in place and spring to my feet in one movement.

“I know you’re still there,” Tobias said. “I must admit I’m disappointed. I thought you would be fiercer.”

I checked my ammunition count.

“What kind of man are you that you won’t answer my insult?” Tobias demanded, anger adding heat to his words.

I picked my targets, glad I was finally going to be able to straighten my neck when I stood up.

“Say something! Reaper!” Tobias screamed.

In one movement, I jumped to my feet and brought the Fury around, firing the moment the aiming reticle in my visor reached the first target. Rounds screamed out of the barrel like an energy weapon in an action holo. There wasn’t time to check for effect; I swept a path of death and destruction across the squad facing me.

One man tumbled backward. Another stood and fired a short rifle at me. I cut them down, realizing too late that they had their own heavy weapon and he was only a beat behind me, firing a stream of high-powered rounds my way as I ran sideways, attempting to break from their perimeter.

As it happened, they were too close and I was nearly to the next change in elevation. Tobias was out there somewhere but all I could attend to was the muzzle flash of the gun the pilot-commando had taken from his ship to use on the last Reaper.

Everything was in slow motion. This wasn’t the first time I’d experienced the appearance of time dilation in a fight. The sensation was warm and welcome to me, a convergence of everything I could do with my senses and my LAI.

“Now, Elise. It must be now,” X-37 said.

My Archangel partner opened fire from a position I couldn’t see, striking the Alon heavy gunner in the shoulder and causing him to shift his aim just enough to miss me. She fired several more times but the man was moving—sometimes away from me, and other times toward me.

I almost respected him for that; few soldiers could continue their assault while taking sniper fire. He was also dodging the stream of death I was pouring in his direction. My initial assessment of these pilot soldiers had been inadequate.

“Break contact, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said.

“Way ahead of you, X.” When I reached the next terrain feature, a little ridge that had probably been caused by erosion around one of the ancient lava flows concealed the drop-off on the other side. I hopped over, fell several feet, and absorbed the impact by squatting low. In the same movement, I hooked the Fury onto my back, not bothering to check that it was magnetically secure.

The Dominator came out as I sprinted away from the fight. Elise was still shooting, but she needed to make her own escape soon. I marked a position higher in the foothills leading back into the mountainous jungle around this valley. X-37 provided a course I could follow to parallel her and meet up later.

“There are at least two members of the squad who survived your attack, and several wounded,” X-37 said. “One of them is Tobias, who may have shouted himself hoarse. I’d muted his channel as I do not believe that communication with the man was a further benefit.”

“You’re… The… Best, X.” Even with the armor, I was out of breath. It didn’t matter how much I trained, there were times when I just had to redline my body to survive.

Large trees and strange rock formations greeted me, sheltering me from the bullets Tobias and his remaining squad members were sending after me.

“What about the rest of the Alon, X?” I asked as I found an animal trail and jogged along it, checking for traps or other threats.

“They are still in the area, following a more disciplined search regimen,” X-37 said.

“What about the Kalon Regulars?”

X-37 processed some information. “I have not detected the ship or their team for at least an hour.”

“I’m coming to you, Reaper,” Elise said. “If we stay spread out in the trees, we’ll get separated.”

“Good call. Do you need me to wait for you?”

She laughed. “You’re funny, Reaper. The day I can’t catch you is the day I retire from adventuring.”

“Is that what we’re doing?” I wondered how much of her tone was a show, hoping she could maintain her youthful energy without being blind to how close we had both come to death, and how near we’d been to failing our mission—which meant dooming all of the Wallach-Xad people to slavery or death.

“Some adventures are darker than others, especially when you’re with a Reaper.” She raced up the trail and fell beside me. “You can thank me later.”

“For what?”

“I believe she is referring to the fact that she saved your life,” X-37 said.

“At least your LAI understands gratitude,” Elise joked, sounding like she was in a teasing mood rather than one of our pre-argument stages.

“My analysis suggests you would both be dead without mutual support,” X-37 said. “This is a trend you should continue if you wish to complete your mission and live to tell about it.”

“And now your LAI brings me back down a notch,” Elise said. “I hope this running around and fighting is worth it.”

I wanted to tell her it would be, if only for the fact we were trying to rescue my sister, Bug, and Henshaw. I still didn’t know what the Black Phoenix was, but it was something and we would put it to the best use possible. There wasn’t any other choice I had seen.

We had gone far before we discovered evidence of the fleeing villagers. I understood they would be in bad shape when I saw their footprints and discarded bits of clothing. Until now, they had been perfectly adept at hiding their trail. These were common villagers, not scouts or warriors. I suspected even they had significant skill at navigating the jungle but were now in panicked flight and probably injured.

“Be careful, Elise,” I said as she took the lead and followed them up a trail. If I was reading the terrain correctly, they were moving to a rocky hilltop that would be defensible, but also inescapable if even partially surrounded. The back of the shelter was a sheer cliff that had once been a waterfall. The black and gray stone had been polished for thousands of years before something changed the course of the river above.

Birds soared above the trees. Creatures moved in the branches. If the Alon were catching up to us, I didn’t see them.

“What do you have up there?” I asked, dreading the answer.

“We found the villagers. They have a lot of wounded. I think we can help them,” she said.

I joined her and was confronted with dozens of elderly men and women attempting to comfort and care for children under the age of seven or eight. Unlike the others we had encountered, they allowed us to approach but didn’t have much to say. I could see the appeal for mercy in their eyes.

“Get out your first-aid kit. We can patch them up, maybe even get them ready to move,” I said.

“Where are they going to go?” Elise asked. “This wouldn’t be a bad place to hide if they weren’t trapped here. Where are their warriors? Why aren’t they preparing a defense?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “Let’s do what we can. We can worry about the rest after we’ve used up our first-aid kits.”

One of the old women carried a very small child toward us and held her forward. I wasn’t sure what was wrong with the child at first glance but saw a compress of leaves and silk thread that had been used to stop bleeding from one of her legs.

I went to work, cleaning the wound and putting a real bandage on it. Their herbal remedies might have worked well, but their healers couldn’t anticipate this kind of damage and they just didn’t have the resources to deal with an attack like this.

From time to time, I watched Elise, and saw that she had a way with the villagers, putting them at ease as she reapplied bandages and set splints on broken bones.

We waited until nightfall before the fighters began to arrive. X-37 couldn’t decipher their words and I suspected they were being intentionally difficult. When they nodded thanks, it seemed somewhat resentful. Maybe they were embarrassed about their many failures.

“They have shotguns and a couple of rifles, if that’s what you want to call them,” Elise said privately. “Do you think they can defend this position?”

“I don’t know, we’ve already stayed here too long. We have our own problems. Let’s get moving,” I said.

Elise nodded and we left without trying to explain our actions. If these jungle tribespeople could understand our language, they pretended not to.

“Let’s try to lead the Alon search parties away from this area,” I said.

Elise bumped her fist against mine. “I was hoping you would say that.”

17

Up and down we traveled, emerging from forests, crossing river valleys, and generally becoming far happier with the mountainous landscape than the lowland jungles. At the very least, I hadn’t been dragged underwater once since we entered this new region.

Elise and I took turns on point.

“Reaper, you might want to come up,” she said. “I can see the ruins again. They always look so close and we never seem to get there.”

“Welcome to foot travel,” I said. “We’re making good time considering the terrain, traps, and enemies looking for us.”

“I wish we had the rest of the team.”

“Once we find Hannah and her conspirators, it’ll be better.” I scanned the sky, looking for the Jellybird. Instead I found another wing of Alon airships crossing the horizon and heading our direction on another of their patrols. “Take cover. We’ve got incoming enemy fighters.”

“Copy that,” Elise said. “I didn’t see the Jellybird. X, can you check on them?”

“I have attempted contact several times. They may have run into trouble at Yansden City when they attempted to refuel,” X-37 said.

“I thought they were going to a remote facility for that.” Images of Jelly getting shot down in the thick of the invasion plagued me.

“Something came up. I believe they may have attempted to help Path at Tatiana’s compound,” X-37 said.

I responded immediately. “We’re too spread out.”

“Please remain realistically positive. There is no evidence they have been destroyed.”

“Except that Tom and Jelly would be here with the ship to help us if they could,” Elise said.

“The kid has a point, X.” I peered out from our hiding place to make sure the Alon airships had shot past us. When I was sure, I looked across the valley behind us and spotted movement.

“Did you see that, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said. “I only ask because there are times your eyes see but your mind doesn’t register the information. My programming explains this is a normal function of human psychology, but I have to ask.”

“No need to explain, X. I saw them, but they hid from the airships so they can’t be Alon,” I said.

“Kalon Regulars?” Elise asked.

“Maybe.” I led the way in the other direction, not trusting anyone but my friends at this point.

“Can you contact them from this distance, X?” Elise asked.

“It is possible, Elise. Perhaps we should negotiate from here rather than wait for them to catch up with us,” X-37 said.

“They’re not going to catch up with us,” I grumbled.

Elise seconded my confidence. “Really, X. Sometimes I think you have no faith in us at all.”

“I am an algorithm programmed into nerve-ware. I have no capacity for faith,” X-37 said. “But I understand your meaning. Statistically, you have done very well at escaping the Kalon Regulars and similar entities.”

“We need to rest and check our gear,” I said. “But we’re not going to sit around long enough for them to find us. Try to make contact, X. If we can’t negotiate an alliance, we can at least set some ground rules.”

“By telling them we will kick all their asses if they mess with us?” Elise said. “Maybe you should let me do the talking.”

“Maybe,” I said, locating a good place for us to camp for a couple of hours.

“My record of past conversations suggests that neither of you are well suited for rational negotiations with hostile forces,” X-37 said.

“Just make the connection. And let me do the talking.” I disassembled my HDK Fury and began to clean it.

“I have Loren Jacem on the line,” X-37 advised moments later.

“It would be him,” I muttered. “Loren, what the hell are you doing out here?”

“I have a large amount of leave time built up. I need to use it, or it will fall off my account,” he said. “The wilderness looked like a nice place to unwind and get back to nature.”

I laughed. Elise stared at me blankly, not appreciating soldier humor or the fact that I could be this casual with a rival.

“Well, this isn’t a good place for a stroll,” I said. “Have you met the Alon commandos and their support elements?”

“Unfortunately, yes. They damaged our ship. We are in a bit of a tough spot, and I wager you are as well,” Loren said. “We’re on the same side. I understand that. The invasion has been worse than we expected. Why don’t we work together?”

“We should work together,” I said with a lilt in my voice, finishing my field cleaning ritual and checking the ammunition for both of my weapons. “But what’s in it for me?”

“What do you want? I can’t just let you take the Black Phoenix when we find it,” he said.

“Let’s talk about that later, if we find it,” I said. “As for what I want, that’s easy. You have to promise me you will defend these villagers and send them aid if they want it.”

“Why wouldn’t they want help?” Loren asked.

“They’re out here for a reason. You may be the last people they want to see.” I made eye contact with Elise, who indicated she was done with her checks and ready to go. I motioned for her to sit down and rest, and she did.

“How did you become so cynical, Reaper?” Loren asked.

“It’s just a talent I have. We’ll be in touch. If you can stay alive, maybe we can team up.”

I cut the connection.

X-37 helped me keep watch on the Valley, waiting for Loren’s approach. I half expected them to be ambushed by Tobias and his commandos. All I had to do was sweep my vision around the landscape from time to time, then attend to my gear. X-37 took snapshots of everything and analyzed it, catching clues I missed.

Not that I missed much. The environment was so raw and unspoiled by the touch of humanity that the slightest change was readily apparent. The Kalon Regulars were easy to spot.

I cursed as my finger slipped off a wrench. The tools were small, kept inside the armor and not meant for heavy use.

“What’s wrong with your armor?” Elise asked.

“It hasn’t been right since the river monster tried to bite my leg off,” I said. “X, do you have any idea what that thing is called?”

“That depends on which planet’s lexicon you wish to use,” X-37 explained. “There are numerous descriptions of predators that live in the water. But you might as well call them dragons for all it would mean to you in this context.”

“Not helpful, X.” I finished my repairs as best I could and took my turn resting while Elise stood guard.

“Are we waiting for them to get here, or continuing your mission?” Elise asked.

“I haven’t decided if they’re going to help us or hinder us.” My instincts told me to continue on with just Elise, but I had to admit, we were a long way from home and without support. Having a squad of Kalon Regulars with us could prove useful. I thought they might be good as a distraction as well. If the Alon started hunting them, we might be able to continue without further interference.

“What are you thinking, Reaper? You have that look in your eye like you’re about to do something we’re all going to regret.”

I held up a hand indicating for her not to worry about it. “X, send Loren coordinates on the way to our destination. We’ll rendezvous with them if they make it that far and see what happens.”

“Message sent, Reaper Cain. Is something bothering you?” X-37 asked.

“Why haven’t we heard from Hannah? This is unusual, even for her.”

My LAI didn’t answer at all, which let’s be honest, freaked me the hell out.

“X, don’t tell me you didn’t hear me,” I said, hoping Elise hadn’t picked up on my mounting frustration and fear.

“Apologies, Reaper Cain. There is something very strange in this region. I was searching for a communications link we might have overlooked in our attempts to contact your sister. The signal I found was… dark.”

“What does that mean, X. As annoying as your machine-like precision is, that’s what I want from you right now. No more colorful language.”

“Whatever it was, Reaper Cain, it has passed from my awareness,” X-37 said. “If I locate and identify the signal, I will tell you more. As for your sister Hannah, there is no news. We cannot communicate with her or the others in any way.”

18

“Just get up here, Reaper,” Elise said. “Stay low and be quiet. You’ll know why when you arrive.”

I crouched, moved forward, and spent half of my attention making sense of equations X-37 was putting on my HUD. “What is this?”

“It is most certainly related to what Elise has found in the gully,” X-37 said. “I believe it will also be related to the decreasing frequency of Alon ships in this area.”

I dropped to my belly and started crawling slowly so as not to make too much noise. “That’s not helpful. I’m assuming it has to do with the ruins. The closer we get, the more problems we have with technology.”

“That is an accurate correlation,” X-37 said. “I thought we had located Envoy and Coranth, but the interference is caused by something else.”

I quit talking to my LAI, ignored my HUD, and searched for Elise. We’d worked through the night and were now stalking into the morning gloom. It was a dangerous time and I worried about an ambush at every chokepoint, ridgeline, or jungle growth.

Elise kneeled at the edge of another large clearing full of shoulder high grass that concealed a marsh of soggy ground. There were places to step, but it was difficult to find what was solid and what wasn’t. The site of the Sansein ship parked in the middle of this mess surprised me.

“I think I hear them,” Elise said. “I’ll lead the way and you follow with that big ass gun.”

I gave her a nod and she started off, carefully picking her steps, pushing the tallgrass out of the way with one hand and holding her weapon with the other. I followed, watching for traps and ambushes.

The downdraft of the alien spaceship had created a perfect circle almost a hundred meters in diameter. Off to one side of the ship, Envoy and Coranth faced each other with a device between them. It looked like a tablet except it was one piece of crystal the color of dark purple.

They treated the item with almost religious deference, speaking in low tones and using words I would never understand even with my limited artificial intelligence helping me to decipher their meaning.

“What are they doing?” Elise asked, her voice hushed even though our soundproof helmets made whispering unnecessary.

“I could guess, but I’d be wrong,” I said.

“That is an astute observation, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said. “My analysis is likewise inconclusive, but suggests they are attempting long-range communication using the device as a booster or antenna.”

“Why do you say that, X?” I asked.

“While I cannot decipher the meaning of their words, the pattern resembles other instances of communication I’ve witnessed between their ships in the past,” X-37 said.

I studied every nuance of the scene, thinking of all we had been through and what were the best and worst-case scenarios of this encounter. Elise seemed restless beside me. I didn’t blame her.

“I want to make contact, X.” With one hand, I motioned for Elise to remain hidden.

She gave me a thumbs up.

“I see no reason not to,” X-37 offered as assurance.

The aliens remained in the same attitude of concentration while I crawled to a different location to stand up. I didn’t want to make it easy for them to find Elise if they realized there was a second human in the clearing.

I approached cautiously, hands up, hoping they didn’t take this as an insult or challenge, exactly the opposite of what a human would have understood it to be. “Envoy, it’s me, Halek Cain.”

“Come closer, Reaper,” Envoy said. “Perhaps your presence will help us make contact with the trapped one.”

I did as I was instructed, careful not to make sudden moves. The Archangel armor would protect me, but I knew how dangerous they could be and there were two of them. Unlike Briggs’s hooked tentacles and claws, their extra appendages were shaped more like arrowheads and were razor-sharp and harder than most metal alloys. Something warned me they could find a gap in my armor somewhere.

“Is one of your people trapped in the ruins?” I asked, stopping to stand between them, forming the third part of a triangle around the communications crystal.

“Not on this planet, on Maglan,” Coranth said.

“Say nothing,” X-37 warned. “You do not know if it is the same planet of the Alon legend. It would be premature to question him on the subject without more information.”

“Does something distress you?” Envoy asked.

“How much time do you have?” I asked, stalling.

The alien held my gaze with a fierce intensity that was unnerving even for me. “Humans are very excitable, this is known to us. It is notable that you have not attacked first and asked questions later as other humans in this region of the planet have done.”

“Those are Alon,” I said. “You can’t hold that against us.”

“I do not,” Envoy said, but the other alien continued to stare at the crystal, barely acknowledging my presence. Coranth had always been less interested in peace.

“I’m looking for my sister and two others,” I said. “There are a lot of dangerous things in this wilderness. Can you fly us to our destination on your ship?”

The idea wasn’t appealing. Every ride on one of the Sansein vessels tortured my human senses, but I would do it without hesitation if it meant success for the mission.

“Are you going to the ruins?” Envoy asked.

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“You did not come alone,” he stated.

I made no response, not about to give up Elise’s position.

“We cannot fly closer to the ruins,” Envoy said. “If this was possible, we would already be there, perhaps in communion with our lost mother.”

“I hope you’re getting all of this, X,” I said privately.

“It does not correlate with my very limited data of the Sansein. You can take what he says at face value and make your own conclusions until I have more data to analyze,” X-37 said.

“It sounds like we need to get to Maglan first if we’re going there,” I said privately, feeling the statement was wrong even as I said the words. There was something more to this riddle, but now wasn’t the time to address it. “Why can’t your ship fly closer to the ruins, Envoy?”

The alien spoke. Neither I nor X-37 could understand the words. He tried several times, sometimes making more sense and sometimes less.

“The black field prevents it,” Envoy explained, not for the first time if his growing impatience was an indicator.

“Now that is interesting,” X-37 said. “Ask him to elaborate.”

Before I could speak, there was a commotion near the edge of the clearing. Coranth sprang toward it, talons flashing in the morning light and tentacles writhing as though ready to strike.

I saw the gray and red armor peeking through the tallgrass. “Those aren’t Alon!”

Both of the aliens hesitated but maintained a protective line between the newcomers and their crystal device.

“Loren, if that’s you, you better speak up and convince them you’re not going to attack,” I broadcast on the channel we shared in common but also to my loudspeaker.

“We come in peace,” Loren said. “Is that you, Cain? Where is the other one?”

Coranth looked over his shoulder at me, then at Envoy. “I knew there was another.”

“Don’t worry about that. Worry about Loren and his Regulars. They won’t cause you any trouble.” Then to Loren, I said, “Don’t make me a liar. Trust me, you don’t want to fight a pair of Sansein.”

“We have enough enemies,” Loren said.

Both Envoy and Coranth stared at the newcomers with unreadable faces. Loren carefully directed his people to spread out but seemed to be urging them not to make any sudden moves. I waited for a moment, struggling to think of something to distract them from violence.

“What exactly is on Maglan?” I asked.

“Reaper Cain,” X-37 said. “Have you already forgotten my admonition to not pursue this line of questioning?”

“Too late, X,” I said, watching both of the Sansein rapidly change positions so that they were looming over me and staring down with barely concealed hostility.

“What do you know of it?” Envoy asked.

“I suppose honesty is always the best policy,” I said. “I was told it might be a sanctuary for humanity. A garden world where we could be safe.”

I can almost feel Elise and Loren listening to the exchange and preparing to fight or flee.

“Perhaps that is true,” Envoy said. “It is a horrible place, a prison. Maybe it is exactly where your kind should be.”

“I’m really not sure I like the way he said that,” Elise muttered on our private channel.

“Maybe we can make a deal,” I said.

“This is impossible,” Coranth said, then he returned to the communications crystal, lifted it, and took it back inside of their ship.

“I’m telling you, Envoy, if we shared some information maybe we could help each other,” I said.

“You do not know what lies on Maglan. Without the dark field, no one may approach it and live,” Envoy said.

“Now we’re getting somewhere,” I said. “Are you talking about the Black Phoenix?”

“What is the Black Phoenix?” the alien asked, seeming to lose interest in our conversation word by word.

“I was hoping you would tell me. Maybe a ship, weapon, or some amazing technology that will save humanity?” I said, talking with my hands, keeping them away from my weapons.

“I’m not sure if I should laugh or cry, Reaper. I’d like to talk trash on you for that incredibly uninspiring speech, but I’m too busy feeling humiliated for our entire race,” Elise said. “Can you get them to just help us find your sister?”

Envoy, unaware of this conversation, continued. “Perhaps we speak of different things. Maybe we will be friends or enemies, it is still too soon to know. We cannot fly you to the ruins, but we will go with you and perhaps no one will attack us.”

“Good enough,” I said. “Let’s get moving. You can tell me all about Maglan as we go.”

“You presume too much.” With that, envoy summoned his brother from the ship and they headed through the jungle toward the ruins that once again looked close enough to touch but probably weren’t.

19

Keeping up with the Sansein was more difficult than I had anticipated. They made jungle travel look easy, sliding between trees and over ridges as though the obstacles didn’t exist. The order of march was complicated by the Kalon Regulars. They proceeded tactically, deploying point elements, flanks, and rearguards whenever they could.

I respected all of these things. And I was amazed at the fluidity of our alien kind-of-maybe allies. There was no time to rest, and when they finally stopped, I was glad to check on Elise and Loren’s people.

Envoy and his brother looked to the sky once, then sat crosslegged on the ground, pulling vegetation over themselves in one graceful movement. Perfectly concealed, they could have been part of this forest despite their strangeness.

“Find some cover,” I said, making sure to include Loren and his Regulars in the warning.

We hid, then watched a new squadron of Alon ships soar over the jungle. One of them was a big plane, like a bomber or heavy transport, and the others seemed to be its escort.

“What are we looking at, Reaper?” Elise asked.

“It’s either a supply drop or an airborne assault,” I said. “We’ll know by the size and number of the parachutes that deploy from the large ship. A lot of small chutes will mean troopers. Larger ones will mean supplies and vehicles, probably ammunition or even materials for a command post.”

I sensed a subtle change in Loren’s people and was glad they were being proactive; improving their positions to prepare for the worst. Although only seconds had passed, I was growing impatient by the time dozens of small parachutes dumped out of the back of the vehicle. Moments later, the transport ship and its fighter escorts veered away, only to be replaced by another group.

When this transport dropped its cargo, there were three large parachutes supporting a single pallet of materials.

“Even though that’s bad news for us, it’s amazing to watch,” I said, remembering my early days in the Union special operations group. Getting a supply drop made otherwise grim soldiers unreasonably festive. Times had been simpler and better then. But that wasn’t the time I thought of often because back then I hadn’t realized how corrupt the Union had become.

“I wish they were on our side,” Elise said. “And I wish Path and Briggs were here, maybe Locke and his people too.”

“Reaper, I’m going to follow your lead,” Loren said. “You have more experience with this type of thing. We’ve done most of our work in urban environments.”

“This is a good time to move,” I said. “The escorts will stay with their attachment. Eventually there will be another patrol, but we should have enough time to clear the area.”

“Understood, Reaper,” Loren said, all business. “First squad, move out. Second and third squads guard our flanks.

I watched the Kalon Regulars work, then followed Envoy and Coranth.

It wasn’t long before we saw what was on the supply pallet. Small off-road vehicles raced ahead of their main column, scouting trails and tearing up the countryside with abandon.

“They are making enough noise to raise the dead,” Elise said.

“They probably don’t think it matters,” Loren said. “They’ll be in control of the entire planet before long. And the system.”

Neither of them were wrong and I had nothing to say, so I kept my head on a swivel and watched out for surprises. Envoy and Coranth pulled farther and farther ahead of us, forcing me to consider if they were trying to leave us behind. I called out to them, but they didn’t answer.

“Do you want me to run up there and tap them on the shoulder, Reaper?” Elise asked. “Ask them to slow down for you?”

“Maybe later.” I saw a group of tribesmen working their way to the trees toward the aliens and wondered if they would be slaughtered. In the end, the locals gave the aliens a wide berth and approached me.

There were nearly a dozen, nine when I counted carefully. Half of them were men and half were women, all between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five. They spread out into a clearing where I stopped to wait for them, motioning for Loren and his men to hang back a few hundred meters. This seemed to be as close as the locals were willing to come to such a superior force.

“Can you understand me?” I asked one of the older young men who seemed to be the leader. He wasn’t the oldest, or the biggest, but it was clear he was in charge. Fine boned and with no fat anywhere on his body, he was someone who lived far from an industrialized civilization—struggling to survive one day at a time.

“Little, little,” he said, holding his fingers very close together. “You speak the old way. My name is Tam.”

None of these people were typical of what my training had taught me indigenous peoples should be like. Confident but cautious, lightly armed and equipped, they had guns and handheld radios. Their clothing had been tightly woven from silk and supplemented by other advanced fabric weaves of exotic materials I wasn’t able to identify at a glance.

“I’m trying to go to the ruins,” I said pointing.

Tam looked grave, leaning on a spear that I believed had a battery pack attached to it near the middle. “Not a good way to go.”

“I don’t have a choice,” I said.

“Many have watched you. You and your partner are better than the others. Your monster-humans are unknown to us, and the soldiers who now follow you have not attacked us for no reason,” Tam said, pausing to look at the ground as though he could find more words there. “We will be with you to the ruins but not fight to defend evil ones.”

“Good enough,” I said. “Call me Cain.”

“Follow, Cain,” he said, and led the way into the forest on a direct course for the ruins that now loomed higher above us in the mountainous junglescape. “Follow.”

“I wish we could confirm what they mean by evil ones,” Elise said.

“For now, let’s assume they mean the Alon soldiers who burned their village. But I take your point. Best not to make our decisions based on a tiny amount of shared language we possess with these people.”

Our progress slowed, but less than an hour later Tam and his people proved their worth by guiding us around an Alon patrol.

“I wish we had found these people a long time ago,” Elise said.

“We did, but they didn’t trust us yet.” I focused on not ruining the fragile new relationship.

20

The ruins, when we were finally close enough to say we had arrived, proved to be massive. I checked the tablet, unsure of the meaning of the icon color change, but believing it to be confirmation we were in the right place at last. The laser cut stone gates were fifty meters high and ten or twenty meters thick if my guess was correct. The scale of this place was enormous, and I assumed there was an entire city inside, most likely full of buildings cut out of the same dark and light gray stone. There was a swirling pattern in the rock that was mesmerizing to look at.

Erosion had damaged the structures, but not much. Whatever the stone was, it was durable. Dirt had collected in places. Cracks had appeared at the tops of walls and around arches. All manner of plants grew where this happened, including vines that hung down like the ropes of an invading army.

The sun was setting. Everything was cast in a purple glow. Tam shook his hands in a gesture that wasn’t immediately obvious. After a few seconds, I decided he wanted us to stop. I held up a fist to convey the message to my team. Wide eyed—probably alarmed because in his nonverbal lexicon I had possibly just told everyone, including his people, to have sex with animals or something—he asked me to talk privately—or that’s what I thought he was saying when he led me into the trees.

It was hard not to rush across the final kilometer or two to the gates, but something told me we weren’t here first. If we showed ourselves, I thought we would be attacked.

“More inside?” I asked Tam.

He nodded, then touched the palms of his hands to his chest with his head bowed, and immediately followed the gesture by spreading his arms wide.

“What does that mean?” Elise asked.

“I think he’s just being sincere, but maybe he means there’s a lot on the other side of the gate,” I said. “Tam, do you know what a city is?”

He nodded, squinting for a second and tapping his chin several times. “City not city.”

“Okay, thanks,” I said. “X, are you still working on their language? I could use some translation help.”

“If you recall, Reaper Cain, it was difficult to unravel the urban dialect as well. This will take time,” X-37 said.

Loren moved in for a conference. Envoy and Coranth seemed completely uninterested, though I wasn’t sure what they were doing. The aliens stared at the gate as though they were automatons that had been turned off.

“That’s just so weird,” Elise said.

“Their behavior makes my soldiers nervous,” Loren confessed. “Why are we stopped here? Let’s go inside and find the answer to this mystery.”

“Cool your jets, Loren,” I said. “Something’s not right.”

“Nothing’s ever right on these misadventures,” Elise said, looking out across the valley behind us, making me proud with her vigilance.

Tam took my arm and talked to me several times. He looked toward an open space in the vast valley between our location and the gatehouse.

“I think our guide wants a private conference,” I said.

“I’m not comfortable with that, Reaper,” Loren said.

“Didn’t think you would be. But I’m letting our guide call the shots for now. Maybe I can get him to repeat whatever it is he’s going to tell me. If you want, try to ask him if you can have a super special private conference of your own,” I said.

“I don’t understand you, Reaper. I don’t know how to differentiate sarcasm from humor with you,” Loren said. “Don’t take too long.”

I followed Tam away from my friends. We stopped, but he didn’t seem to be satisfied and led me a few strides farther.

“Do not touch dujong de meka darkness,” he said. His earnest expression made him look even smaller, more childlike than I knew he was. “De meka dujob vast vist.”

“I’m listening, but to understand.” He seemed to be waiting for something, looking directly at my helmet visor. On impulse, I removed the helmet—something I normally wouldn’t do this close to my objective.

He looked into my eyes for several seconds, his expression unreadable but intense. At length, he nodded then squatted in the dirt. Drawing a picture that looked like a man in a boat, he pointed several times at me and at the ruins and at the jungle until I was just as confused as when he’d begun the demonstration.

I held up a hand for him to stop. Mimicking what he had drawn part by part, I looked to him to see if he could clarify the elements of his message. When I made the boat diagram, I mimicked something floating on water then moved it into the air, hoping that he was talking about the Black Phoenix or some type of vessel.

He shook his head, then jabbed me in my chest with his finger. When he saw I didn’t understand, he jabbed me several more times.

“My armor is the ship? I’m the ship?” I spread my hands hoping he understood that I was still confused. “X, I need some help here.”

“You are doing an excellent job, Reaper Cain. Please continue to gather verbal and nonverbal data for my analysis.”

We went back and forth until I could sense Elise and Loren edging closer to watch, Elise’s arms crossed thoughtfully. Just when I thought I was getting somewhere, Tam pointed at the sun. He opened both hands wide, fingers spread as far as they would go, and closed them forcefully. He crossed his arms over his chest, then jabbed his finger again to my chest.

“I think he said you’re his sunshine,” Elise said. “Oh, come on, Reaper. You have to admit that’s funny.”

I stood up and massaged the back of my neck with one hand.

“The darkness will be in your thinker,” Tam said. “Is your thinker big enough? Meka meka?”

“I assume he is referring to your cognitive abilities, but if he were referencing me, this entire conversation would mean something much different,” X-37 said.

“Well, you could use an upgrade. After all the planets we’ve been to, you can’t figure out what this guy is saying,” I said, trying not to show my frustration.

“The likelihood of an upgrade is improbable, Reaper Cain. That would have to come from the union that created me, and we’ve gone to extreme lengths to escape them,” X-37 said.

“Trust me, I have thought about that more than once. How are you doing? No degradation of your software?” I asked. Our conversation about my neural resilience and how it limited his potential still bothered me. If I understood the implications correctly, it meant we were far more interdependent that either of us had ever admitted.

“I am performing adequately, despite your insinuation to the contrary,” X-37 said.

Tam stood and dusted off his hands, then shrugged. “Inside?”

“That’s where we’re going, Tam. Have your people seen any of the evil ones, the Alon soldiers?” I asked.

He stared at me blankly, pondering my question, then turned his hand over several times. “Maybe. Killing men came from the skies. Some are in the valley before the gate.”

“Elise, look at this scene and tell me what you see. We’ll discuss our observations and both look independently,” I said.

“My people will do the same,” Loren said, and returned to his Regulars.

Once I’d put my helmet back on, I took a moment to synchronize my cybernetic eye with the advanced optics in the Archangel visor. Fatigue crept through my bones, but I made myself work methodically, visually scanning each part of the valley. From this far away, I had to move more slowly to get a good image for X-37 to analyze.

Our conclusion was the same. Alon soldiers and commandos were waiting for us, concealed and well-positioned. We needed a way around.

I squatted next to Tam, then pointed at the places I was most concerned about. He squinted and nodded and shielded his eyes from the sun with one hand. Only after he had done as much as he could with his naked vision did he pull a pair of binoculars from a pouch. Moments later, he waved two of his companions forward, a teenage boy and a woman in her mid twenties.

They took their time then consulted in their own language, speaking very rapidly.

“Many evil ones,” Tam finally confirmed.

I nodded, then told him we called the evil ones the Alon.

“At least we have that sorted out,” Elise commented.

“I caution against that conclusion, Elise. My analysis of their dialect is incomplete. I believe their words mean different things depending on how many of them are in one conversation.”

“Wow, that’s going to be confusing,” I said, more interested in the tactical situation than our linguistic advancements.

“I will help you, Reaper Cain,” X-37 assured me.

“Follow,” Tam said. His advisors nodded enthusiastically.

“You heard our guide,” I said. “It’s time to move out.”

Tam led us back the way we had come for half a kilometer, then into a washed-out gully that was still wet from the last flood. The mud wasn’t deep, however. Under a layer of slime was something firm—sand from eroded volcanic rock. After a few steps on the treacherous footing, it felt better and less likely to make us fall. We soon entered a natural culvert. Vines stretched over the top. Nature’s camouflage was better than anything I could have hoped for.

“This is perfect,” Elise said.

“Unless the Alon find us here and drop grenades on us,” Loren said.

“Good point. Let’s try to avoid that.” I urged Tam to pick up the pace and noticed that Envoy and Coranth were now following us instead of the other way around.

The world we moved through was surreal, distorting time with its strangeness. In places there was no light. In others, shadows moved to the vines just ahead of our feet. I saw Tam’s people inside passages, some lying in net hammocks, and realized he was taking us through their home.

“Not all of the tribespeople are the same,” X-37 said. “I believe Tam and his group are from a society that watches over the ruins.”

“Why do you think they’re helping us?” I asked.

“Asking them would be the best way to find out,” X-37 said.

“I’m so glad you’re here to help.” At the next pause, I squatted down to talk to Tam so that I didn’t loom over him in my Archangel armor. “Is this your home?”

He narrowed his gaze on me, suspicious. “You cannot have my home.”

I shook my head. “We don’t want to take anything from you. I was going to say thanks for trusting us.”

“Trust,” Tam said as though the word was dubious.

“Thank you for risking your people to help us. Why are you doing this?”

“So you might take away dark device,” Tam said. “Meka tist.”

“I thought you told me not to touch it?”

“No touching,” Tam said. “It will not be touched.” He made flying wings with his hands toward the ceiling of the tunnel.

“I don’t understand,” I said.

He shrugged and began to lead again.

“That was helpful, Reaper,” Elise said.

“I’m nominating you as our new Yansden liaison,” I said. “Don’t expect a pay raise.”

“I’m getting paid?”

The farther we followed Tam, the fewer of his people I saw until it was just him. We reached an opening that was obviously inside the gate of the ruins. He pointed toward it and I doubted his benevolence. The look he gave me was from a young man capable of hard decisions.

“Farewell, Tam. Until next time,” I said.

“No next time. Oika, kain.”

There wasn’t much to say, so I turned my back on the stern young man and headed into a boulevard long forgotten. There were buildings and parks and many things overgrown from thousands of years of neglect. The black and gray buildings stood resolutely against the passage of time, holding nature on their foundations in many places.

Elise and Loren followed, then came the Kalon Regulars who spread out and took defensive positions while we surveyed our position. Neither Envoy nor Coranth emerged.

“Where the hell are the Sansein?” Elise asked.

I wanted to go back to check on Tam and make sure the aliens hadn’t worked some havoc among their people. X-37 assured me I need to be patient and they would emerge soon. Elise was saying something, but she eventually quit talking as I stared back at what we had done. There was no proof Envoy and his brother had harmed our guides people, but I didn’t have a good feeling and wanted resolution.

Elise shouted out me as I ducked back inside the passage. “They told you not to go back in there.”

Ignoring her, ignoring the concerned looks from Loren and his regulars, I soon found myself in darkness, looking into possible side passages that seemed too small for a Sansein to use. The place felt abandoned as though no one had ever been here, much less lived in the underground warren.

Elise appeared in the entrance. “What are you doing? We can’t go back, and not just because of your promise. We have to find your sister and the device.”

“You’re right.” I reluctantly abandoned my search. Outside the sun had grown bright and everything seemed harsh. “They must have taken another way.”

“You’re worried about Tam and his people,” Elise said.

I nodded. “If anything happens to them, it’s my fault.”

“That’s what you think about everyone you meet,” Elise observed. “It’s kind of cute.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Never mind,” she said. “But you have to admit you want to save everyone. Maybe you’re trying to make up for something.”

“Understanding your psychological profile better than anyone, I can say she may have a point,” X-37 said.

“Don’t care. We can be introspective later. Let’s search this place,” I said.

Loren waved for my attention. He moved to my side, either unable or unwilling to use a private radio channel between my Archangel armor and his Kalon armor. “The Alon are at the gate and preparing to attack. I don’t think we can afford to let them inside.”

21

I let Elise begin a cursory search of the courtyard area in the first few buildings while I went with Loren to the gate to see what we were facing. A company of Alon soldiers were already formed up for an assault supported by lightly armored cars, vehicles designed for off-road reconnaissance, but also carrying a machine gun on the top of the cage.

“They won’t wait long, Loren,” I said. “From what I’ve seen of their tactics, the moment they show themselves it’s game on.”

“How did they know we were here?” he asked.

Instinctively, I looked into the ruins of the city and saw black light rising from the center of the buildings. “Either we just happened to arrive when this ancient whatever it is blows up, or Envoy and Coranth have pulled a fast one. Someone is powering up ancient tech.”

I didn’t tell him what I was really worried about, because the purple light show was as likely to be my sister, Henshaw, and Bug as it was to be the Sansein. “X, remind me never to trust Envoy or Coranth.”

“Of course, Reaper Cain. They did send you a message that was quite considerate,” X-37 said.

“You’re just now giving it to me? What the fuck, X?”

“I’m ignoring your irrational hostility. Envoy says what they do is for the mother who must be freed,” X-37 said.

“Yeah, that makes perfect sense. I thought she, it, whatever was imprisoned on Maglan,” I said, counting the Alon forces and attempting to guess how they would storm the gate.

“Sarcasm and resentment detected,” X-37 said. “Perhaps I should talk to Elise instead.”

“You’re killing me, X.”

The sound of Elise’s voice filled my helmet. “I think you better get over here, Reaper. I found Lady Faith.”

“Where are you,” I said, looking toward the gate towers. I could hear shouted orders and engines just out of sight. Tobias and his company were making their move.

“Do you see the pillar of blacklight shooting into the sky? I’m about two hundred meters from that,” she said. “The ship is completely dark. I’ve never seen it completely without power.”

Every ship I’d ever seen maintained emergency power unless it had been destroyed in battle, like the ruined hulks in the debris field in this Xad system. She had to be wrong. “How close are you to the Lady Faith? Can you try an emergency comm link?”

“I already tried that, Reaper. Just get here as quick as you can. I’m not sure how to get onto the ship if there’s no power,” she said.

That would be a problem. Ships were made to withstand incredible abuse while traveling from solar system to solar system. Hand tools were rarely sufficient to force entry into a ship. That’s why they were often seized in their entirety when they had committed a criminal violation. Eventually the crew would have to come out for air, or food, or whatever.

“I need to deal with Tobias,” I said.

“You need to get here right now, Reaper. There is a blood trail leading away from the cargo ramp,” she said. “I’ve been banging my fist on the door for five minutes. The ship is completely dead. No response to anything I’ve tried. I need to start searching and it would be a hell of a lot easier if you were here to help.”

Time stopped. A loud humming filled my ears. I knew there were mortars being fired by Tobias’s infantry. Once they softened us up, they would charge. I assumed they knew we lacked the manpower to defend everywhere at once. We had Archangel armor, but superior technology could be taken down with enough motivated and well-equipped attackers.

“Loren,” I called on the radio. “Can you hold?”

He was about fifty meters from me, looking out at our attackers. His officers and sergeants were all around him, arguing in their martial fashion about which course of action was appropriate. I couldn’t hear them, but I saw their gesticulating hands and knew this was how it always went.

He saluted once, possibly to acknowledge he’d heard me, or possibly telling me not to bother him.

One good thing happened right before I abandoned the Kalon Regulars in favor of helping Elise and rescuing my pain-in-the-backside sister. Alon drop ships swooped down, right over the gate, strafing the area to support the ground assault. The doors opened to deploy another platoon of troops—then veered off course as though something had seized the controls and reversed them. Black tendrils of energy streamed from the ruins, flashing into the ships and causing them to crash land in the jungle.

“X, contact Jelly right now and tell her to stay away from the ruins, land at least a kilometer out from the entrance to the city,” I said.

“I am unable to contact Jelly,” X-37 said. “My last communication with the Jellybird was twenty-five minutes ago. Tom advised they were en route with Path, Briggs, and a squad of Tatiana’s best fighters.”

“Keep sending the message until they respond,” I said, then sprinted toward Elise.

“Cain!” Loren called after me. “You better have a miracle up your sleeve, because they are coming on strong.”

Explosions and weapons fire accentuated his words. Mortars landed all around the inside of the gate, blowing chunks of stone from buildings and filling the space with smoke and gas. In the distance, ships approached more cautiously, circling to land farther out and deploy troops, vehicles, and artillery pieces. I ignored X-37’s updates, including the dots on my HUD that showed a growing mass of enemies converging on the ruins.

“Elise, I’m almost there,” I called.

“Okay, meet me at the ship. I started without you and will have to double back. The blood trail is bad, Reaper. I don’t see how anyone could lose that much blood and survive.”

I practically flew down the street without looking for ambush, traps, or any danger. If something popped up to stop me, the only option would be to smash through it or fail.

“X,” I said breathlessly. “Can you contact Envoy or Coranth?”

“I am unsure how their personal comms function, but I will broadcast a signal that their ship can detect.”

“Get them to help us. Promise anything,” I said, spotting the Lady Faith.

“Is that wise, Reaper Cain?”

“I don’t give a fuck right now. We need to find Hannah.” Thoughts of the Black Phoenix and my larger objective seemed distant and abstract. Images of dark bolts of energy crashing the Alon ships seemed too good to be true. How many ships could this thing take down? Were the energy beams and invisible barrier part of the Black Phoenix or a defensive barrier set to protect the device from thieves?

I glanced at the ship, acknowledging that one completely devoid of power did look different. How? It was hard to say, but something had happened to render it completely lifeless. I wondered if Lady, the ships AI, had been reset after this happened. If that were the case, the ship wouldn’t be able to take off until someone rebooted its systems.

The blood trail led away from the landing pad, between a row of buildings, and up a wide flight of stairs. “That’s a lot of fucking blood, X.”

“It is, Reaper Cain. Is now a good time to remind you that all of your first aid kits were used at the Yansden tree village?”

I didn’t answer my LAI. Elise was waiting for me in the archway of two huge doors. The moment I joined her, she put forward one fist and I bumped mine against hers without thinking why. Normally, we did that after a good workout or a joke we put over on one of our friends. This time, I think we were just glad to see each other, knowing that if we had to fight against these types of odds we were in it together with no turning back.

“I think I figured something out about the blood trail while the AI was waiting,” Elise said. “It’s pretty messy. I think it’s from more than one victim. Does that make it better?”

“I hope so. Don’t worry about that now. We can’t do anything until we find them, and even then, we can’t do anything until we stop whatever did this to them,” I said, looking back to see how the battle was going. To my surprise, there were already enemy infantrymen swarming down the streets. I spotted Tobias looking for me, arriving at the ship, and immediately keying in on the blood trail. We had the high ground now. If he looked up, he might see me.

“I’m really tired of that guy,” I said.

The sounds of fighting hadn’t ended, and I realized Loren was using tactics against the Alon that he had probably learned from Tatiana and the fighters of the repel compound.

“I went inside, took a quick look around. It looks like a cathedral or some sort of giant courtroom,” Elise said. “Lots of benches on each side in a long procession toward a dome at the end. You’ll know what I mean when we get there.”

“All right. It’s a big doorway, we can go through at the same time.” I checked my HDK Dominator magazines, then we hurried toward our objective. The blood was everywhere now like there had been a struggle. I had been trying not to step on it in case there were clues, but now it was impossible. Before long I was leaving my own tracks because it was still fresh.

“X, have you contacted the Jellybird?” I asked.

“I have not, Reaper Cain. I am able to receive but not send. She has reassured me several times that they will be here soon and plan to deploy directly on top of our signal due to the presence of enemy troops,” X-37 said.

I muttered a string of curses under my breath and wondered how everything had become so complicated. This situation would be much easier if all I had to do was kill someone to resolve the problem. That’s what I was trained for, after all.

The room was huge, just as Elise had said. There were treelike pillars along each side, and rows of benches that were empty but would’ve held a thousand people had they been full. The middle aisle was wide enough to drive a tank and there were complicated patterns engraved on the tile. Dirt had been blowing into the ruins for millennia. In places, I couldn’t see the decorative patterns at all. What I did see were tracks and blood smears.

At the end of the main aisle was a huge dome with light flickering inside. The blood trail stopped at its base.

“Something dragged them in there,” Elise said.

22

“Cover the door.” I marched forward with increasing speed. I wanted to run but forced myself to think, plan, and avoid mistakes. We weren’t going to get many chances. My sister’s silence gave me a bad feeling that wouldn’t let go of my dark imagination. Hannah had often run off. From about age twelve and up she was more of a handful to our parents than I had been. But she’d never given us the silent treatment.

If she could have sent a message, even if it was to taunt or harass me, she would have. Bug wasn’t exactly the quiet type either. And Henshaw, when he wasn’t brooding over the loss of the Lady Faith, had always been fond of long lectures proving how smart he was—or that’s how I saw it.

The distance between the entrance and the dome vanished abruptly. Despite my best efforts, I was too focused on my objective. Tunnel vision killed people in my line of work. Something lurked in the darkness, filling me with unseen dread.

The dome was as massively impressive as the rest of this room. Seven meters high with a vertical base to match, it could have been its own building. This place had been a combination of cathedral, courtroom, and gladiatorial arena—I could feel it. Long ago, something evil had happened here and there had been a lot of willing spectators.

“I’ve got the doors barred, Reaper,” Elise said, breaking my hellish reverie. “The good news is, these were made for this. They won’t hold Tobias and his goons out forever, but you have a few minutes. Do you want me with you or at the door?”

“Hold the door. You’ll know when I need help,” I said.

“Go back, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said.

I missed a step, never having heard such a tone from my limited artificial intelligence. Stopping wasn’t an option. Tobias was outside, probably slaughtering Loren and the Kalon Regulars. Inside, half the people I cared about were trapped in a freakishly mysterious dome that might or might not have blasted ships out of the sky with a purple bolt of energy. Whatever this place was, its security measures had kept these ruins isolated for thousands of years.

I pressed forward despite my fear even though my hands were shaking and my legs felt weak. Memories of fighting Victon and how he had told me only a champion could use whatever this was grew more vivid in my head the closer we came to our objective. He had claimed this thing would save his people, but he was dead and I needed this to be the savior of mine.

I doubted virtue had anything to do with using the Black Phoenix as he’d implied, but I knew this wasn’t going to be easy. Though naturally confident, or even overconfident according to most people I knew, the sight of the dome filled me with doubt. For the first time I could remember, it was like I had already failed.

Elise had been right about the blood trails. They separated about ten meters before the dome. All three of them went into the strange structure.

I searched for an opening and was surprised to locate one. There was a distorted field of air that made me pause. I didn’t want to cross it. Every instinct told me to leave this place right now.

“Reaper…”

The sound of my limited artificial intelligence was faint. He could manipulate volume, and often did to add emphasis, but now he sounded like he was on another planet and that was a sensation I didn’t like.

We had speculated I would die if he went out of commission and vice versa. The algorithm was hardwired into my nerves at a molecular level, or at least that’s what Union scientists had told me. Kill one, kill the other. X-37 was the ultimate cybernetic integration, technology the Union abandoned as too dangerous. Nothing that had happened during the last year changed my assessment of these consequences.

I took a deep breath, gripped my weapon, and prepared to force my way into the dome.

“Reaper, I’m coming,” Elise said.

I looked over my shoulder and watched her rush toward me, knowing she was right. I also understood that only one of us needed to die if this was as bad as I thought it was going to be. I blasted through the translucent barrier and began clearing the dome. I’d expected subdivisions or hallways or stairs or a pit that took me to the center of the planet. Instead, there was a series of tables in the center where Hannah, Bug, and Henshaw had been strapped down. Their captors had wrapped them in sheets of cellophane, which at least had the effect of stopping the bleeding from their many wounds. Beyond this mashup of sacrificial altars and autopsy tables, were geocentric dividers that could hide almost anything.

A creature huddled between them, exactly in the middle of their triangular positioning. Squatted down like Briggs in a bad mood, but three times as large and covered with black and purple spikes, its eyes were black pupils on black sclera and blood leaked down its sharp cheekbones.

It trembled as it rose to its full height, and hunched slightly toward me as it began to move.

X-37 issued a high-pitched whistling sound that rapidly faded to nothing…like a scream in my brain.

It was a sound I had never heard and never wanted to hear again.

Pain pounded through my head, driving me to my knees. I couldn’t even think about my adversary despite its proximity. Within seconds I was going to be torn to pieces. My only hope was that Elise would join the fight at the exact right moment and get a kill shot on the creature. The shimmering doorway loomed behind me, undisturbed.

The creature looked like one of the Neverseen Lords, but darker, more sinister, more monstrous than even my imagination could create in a night terror. None of that was what struck cold terror into my heart. I couldn’t hear X. Maybe he’d gone silent for a brilliantly tactical reason. I wanted to believe that was the case. This was like he was completely gone, dead, wiped out of my consciousness completely.

The monster dashed forward, long and lean and crazy as hell. In my heightened state of awareness, it reminded me of Tobias—appearing physically awkward at first but imminently dangerous in reality. None of that mattered now.

It was time to do work.

Despite its size, it was extremely fast and showed no hesitation. Just as I was advancing to meet it, the thing kicked me square in my chest, launching me back through the shimmering portal into the main cathedral.

“X!” I shouted after I hit the ground hard.

It hissed and growled something I didn’t understand and didn’t really give two shits about right now.

After rolling to my left, I came up with my HDK ready and fired a long burst.

Bullets stitched across it, disappearing into its dark flesh. There wasn’t time to check my accuracy. I thought I’d struck several times, but the creature didn’t flinch.

I kept moving, attempting a magazine reload right as it kicked me again, sending me backward across several of the benches. One of them snapped in half but another caught my leg and flipped me upside down so that I landed on my faceplate.

Twisting to face the creature, I kicked one of the benches out of the way, tripping it. The response didn’t last. I heard Elise firing her HDK, but also explosions rocking the door to this building.

The monster jumped into the air, higher than seemed possible. Something with that much density and weight should have moved slower. I laughed crazily as I thought about how it had been waiting thousands of years to kill me.

When the Black Phoenix guardian came down, it landed on me, predicting where I tried to dodge to my right. I’d never felt so much pressure on the Archangel armor—not even in the jaws of the river monster. My head was going to squirt out the top of my helmet. Stars filled my vision and I couldn’t breathe.

“Take the darkness!” it hissed into my face, then bounded away. By freakish chance, I caught a glimpse of it smashing its forearm across Elise’s face, flipping her two hundred and seventy degrees through the air.

Her helmet bounced through the benches.

I came up, extended my Reaper blade, and ran at its back. The thing was covered from heel to neck with ridges that could’ve been armor, or possibly the start of wings or tentacles or whatever an alien mutant freak like this grew during a thousand years of hibernation for the purpose of killing a Reaper.

I plunged the blade into anything that looked like a gap, any possible weak spot. Over and over again, I attacked, screaming my rage and swearing violently. I wasn’t fighting smart; I was fighting like a man possessed.

Elise screamed. X-37 remained silent. Another explosion thumped the door hard enough to shake dust from the ceiling.

“Help me out, X!” I shouted, changing back to my rifle. When I brought it to bear on my enemy, I realized the barrel was bent. I didn’t remember how that had happened. Only a flurry of the creature’s attacks, getting slammed around, and cascades of pain existed. I couldn’t see out of the left side of my helmet, almost as though it had damaged that side to obscure my Reaper eye. My left shoulder was in agony from another strategic attack. This thing knew what my enhancements were and had tried to neutralize them. The monster was smart.

It was also blocking X-37 and gathering data on me like it might have its own LAI.

With one hand, I reached back for the HDK Fury, confident it was there because I remembered trying to roll across it during one of my desperate maneuvers. The feeling of relief when I pulled it forward was colossal. This thing might be tough, but it had never met the Fury. I swung the weapon around even as I was forced to retreat and move laterally to avoid another of its attacks.

Elise was down, her helmet off. No sounds came from her or from her Archangel armor.

I opened fire on the creature, holding the trigger, stitching my enemy with high powered rounds until the oversized barrel glowed with heat. It moved and I marched, desperate to stay one step ahead of it. We performed an undignified dance around the room, trying to get at each other.

The creature caught me with a hook, not a punch, but an openhanded slap that knocked me off my feet.

I popped back to my feet, the damaged servo motors in my armor complaining loudly. The monster was too close. I held down the trigger of the HDK Fury again, but the monster was inside the length of my barrel and pushed to the side, ignoring the effect of the skin searing barrels.

The thing was huge. Even in my Archangel armor, I felt like a child. It ripped the weapon from my hands, then tore it from the ammunition belt attaching it to my back.

This caused me to fly through the air yet again, but not as far and with much less grace. I landed on one shoulder, my legs looking like a scorpion tail over my head.

The lights went out and when I came to, I could barely move my left arm, my right gauntlet was off, and my helmet was twisted so I couldn’t see through the visor.

Loren demanded assistance, his shouts filling my helmet. Elise still wasn’t moving. The door looked like it was about to come down and I wondered if that would be a bad thing. Maybe Tobias wanted to party in the hall of the Black Phoenix.

When I tried to stand, my armor pinned me down. “X, what’s going on with the Archangel gear?”

This time, X responded, but I couldn’t make out the words. There was too much static. My pulse pounded in my ears and I felt claustrophobic. The much simpler limited AI in my helmet displayed a plain message on my HUD. Everything was in lock down mode, something reserved to mutineers and traitors. The armor that had saved my life dozens of times was going to kill me.

23

The freak stared at me, lips drawing back from its teeth. Intelligence gleaned in its eyes and I realized some of the protrusions I had thought were bones or cartilage were synthetic. Flesh had grown over the machined parts. “How did you know to do that, you bastard?”

If the monster heard me, it didn’t care about my resentment. Twisting inside of the torso, I managed to pop loose the emergency switch and open the Archangel armor like a clamshell. With no hesitation, I rolled out and dragged my left arm free. It tended to hang up during a rapid dismount. This time when I escaped its clutches, I yanked my arm back so hard that it rolled the armor away from me.

The main door to the cathedral exploded. Shrapnel shrieked through the air. Smaller bits of it peppered my back. The Black Phoenix straightened and reached both arms out. Electricity rippled over its skin almost too fast to see, and before I knew it, weapons flew into his hands.

This was when some help from X-37 would’ve been nice. For now, it didn’t matter how the creature used the electromagnetic trick. My best guess was that certain things were calibrated to it. He fired at me with one oversized pistol, and at the Alon commandos coming in the door with the other.

I dove sideways and rolled, seeking cover. Bullets punched through the benches just behind me as I ran. When I reached a support pillar, it seemed too narrow to protect me, but it was all I had. Struggling to catch my breath, I made myself as small as possible while bits of the black and gray stone exploded into the air. Several people were shooting now. A grenade landed close to my pillar but on the other side where it exploded.

The monster, momentarily diverted, went on a killing spree I could barely stand to listen to much less watch. Pieces of soldiers were ripped from their bodies and flung across the room. Screams of pain told me my enemies were fighting each other. Unfortunately, the distraction didn’t last long.

All I had left was my blade and it wouldn’t extend all the way. Elise rolled to her feet and crawled behind cover. I saw her reloading her HDK Dominator. Each movement was slow and clumsy, but she had a concussion and possibly blood loss.

“Elise!” I shouted.

She had her back to one of the pillars. Several seconds after I called her, she processed the sound and looked my way—her head turning in starts and stops like a damaged robot. I’d seen the behavior in soldiers fighting far beyond their capabilities; the raw determination it took to continue when hurt that badly couldn’t be explained. Her injuries were severe. Recognizing my voice, much less planning her next move, would be like climbing a mountain while blind and with no hands.

Shaking it off just enough to function, she took a fighting stance, going around the pillar, and fired several times at the creature. One of the Alon soldiers tried to push her out of her hiding place and she punched him in the throat hard enough to knock him off his feet.

“I really wish you were here for this, X,” I muttered as I prepared for one final charge and signaled Elise to keep it busy while I made my attack.

Three quiet beeps sounded in my ear, more like a hearing test than an alert.

“X! Is that you?” I couldn’t contain my excitement even though I had no time for it.

“I’ve marked three weak spots on your adversary. Strike them now, Reaper Cain.”

The HUD from my cybernetic eye was much different than from my Archangel helmet. I’d gotten used to the now ruined gear. “I see it, X.”

A piercing screech hurt my ear. My limited artificial intelligence went quiet.

Elise staggered out from behind the pillar, firing until her HDK was empty, then transitioning to her pistol, advancing the entire time. The Alon soldiers cleared away from her, probably not wanting to be part of her suicide charge. The creature hissed and ran toward her, probably intending to kick her out the door as it had me.

Running without my armor felt weird. I intercepted the creature when it was two strides from Elise, grabbing its right arm and shoving it down under me, I vaulted upward, slamming my legs around its neck in an ugly triangle restraint. If the thing had been human, I would’ve just won with the acrobatic choke. All it did now was cause me to hang upside down as it flung me around in a circle.

Two of X-37’s suggested targets were out of reach, but the way I was hanging, even if I was getting abused like a ragdoll, gave me a clear shot at its rib cage under its right armpit. A light blinked there, barely visible through several layers of purple skin. I stabbed it as hard as I could with my half-extended Reaper blade.

The sharp edge cut in. I twisted the blade until it pried free a mechanical device that had been embedded in its rib cage. The creature grabbed me with both hands, flipped me over its head, and slammed me on the ground. I bounced and might’ve blacked out. It was hard to remember anything after the impact.

All that mattered to me was climbing back to my feet so I could die standing. The creature staggered toward me. I grabbed its wrists and tried to control its attacks. We shoved each other back and forth until it fell to one knee then pitched sideways with black blood oozing from the wound I had created.

The first thing I did was look for Elise. She was gone, which I decided to take as a good sign. At least I wasn’t looking at her corpse stretched across the debris cluttered room. For about one second, I thought X-37 had congratulated me but it was probably my imagination.

I stood over the corpse of the monster wishing I had the energy to cut out the rest of its mechanical parts. That seemed the best way to make sure it stayed down.

Behind me, a man clapped slowly.

I looked at the ceiling. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

“I’ll admit, Reaper, I don’t really understand what that thing was or how this will benefit the Alon Empire. But I’m glad you’ve done the work for me. When I kill you, I’ll have more honor than any warrior alive,” Tobias said.

I stood, moved away from my kill, and stretched my back to relieve what was somehow my most annoying injury right now. In my peripheral vision lay the monster and its personal combat weapons, unusable without X-37 to help me understand them.

“What’s really fucked up, Tobias, is that you don’t even seem to care how many of your men died assaulting this room,” I said, edging around him, looking for the best angle for an attack.

“They paid the price and will be remembered as heroes,” he said.

I kept moving until I saw Elise behind Tobias. She was about ten meters back, signaling me she was out of ammunition. One look at her told me she was too banged up to be part of this fight but at least she was alive.

“I’ve got a better idea. What if we have a joke contest or something?” I grabbed the flat of my Reaper blade and pulled on it until it came free of whatever had been hanging it up.

Tobias showed me his teeth, seeming genuinely happy about what we were going to do. “I’m going to enjoy this, Reaper.”

He rushed forward. I retreated rapidly, foiling his attack. He slashed at me with his combat knife but missed.

Stepping laterally, I slashed at his face to keep him honest. “Didn’t see you had that knife. That was good.”

The man was done talking, apparently. He grunted something unintelligible and came at me with renewed vigor. I was so damn tired I almost didn’t want to play anymore.

Taller than I was, his reach was going to be a problem. The blade slashed my right cheek, opening a vertical gash that bled freely down the front of my face and chest. My counterattack was almost simultaneous with his, a hard thrust to his chest that didn’t penetrate deep enough to do real damage. Our footwork was complicated and technical, too fast to follow.

I sensed Elise wanting to get into the fight and hoped she’d stay back. I was as likely to stab her as I was Tobias if this became group combat.

We exchanged blows and slashes for seconds, but it seemed like minutes before I realized the extent of the man’s arrogance. This had become a close quarter’s knife fight, but his sidearm was in the holster. Maybe it was loaded. Maybe it was keyed to his DNA. If I tried for it and failed, he’d cut my throat. I didn’t have armor to protect me from small but deadly mistakes.

“We’re coming, Captain,” Jelly shouted in my ear. “You are hard to locate without X-37’s cooperation.”

Reluctantly, I retreated, letting the opportunity to take the gun pass.

It was the wrong move. My adversary had fewer injuries and more energy reserves. He jumped into the air, distracted me with a left jab, and converted into a hard right thrust of his knife. The razor edge cut me, and my collarbone was sliced across my left shoulder. There wasn’t any pain. The cybernetic interface of my left arm was glitchy and slow to respond.

When I retreated I stumbled and fell to my back. The Jellybird wasn’t going to get here in time. I couldn’t rely on Path or Briggs or Elise or anyone to save me. I rolled backward and came to my feet just quick enough to scramble under the press of Tobias’s attack. He was so fast and his arms and legs were so long. The blade flashed out over and over again, killing me with a thousand little cuts.

Flinging my left arm up like it was a club rather than a high-tech cybernetic enhancement, I slowed what would’ve been a killing blow. My right hand reached across his body, drew his gun backward from the holster, and fired it upside down.

The thundering noise in the recoil told me I’d won even before the bullets began punching through his gut. I shifted my aim upward, putting rounds through his heart, another in his throat, and the last to his face. The force flung him backward. Training and instinct demanded I go for the coup de grace, so I kicked him hard, tossing him into the benches just like the creature had done to me.

I flung the gun aside and leaned on my knees, fighting to catch my breath. Path and Briggs burst into the room, going immediately to Elise. She waved them away, pointing at me.

“We came as fast as we could,” Path said. “Jelly said X sent one encrypted message for us to wait and then went silent. We thought you were dead.”

“If you thought I was dead, you must’ve just come for the kid,” I said nodding to Elise.

“Awk,” Briggs said. “You got that right.”

“Give me one of your first-aid packs. I’ll treat myself. You need to check on Hannah and the others,” I said, then fell over. The pain I had held at bay washed over me. I sank to the ground and laughed hysterically as someone ignored my instruction and began gluing my slash wounds shut.

“You have a death wish,” Tatiana said, cleaning blood from my face.

“How did you get here? What about the compound?” I asked.

“We fled into the wilderness.” Her expression told me it hadn’t gone well. The weight of the world pressed down on her. “Don’t worry about that now. Did you find your super-weapon?”

“Maybe. Not sure how to use it.” The truth was I wasn’t sure I had all the pieces and didn’t want to become like the guardian I’d killed—more machine than human and more monster than machine.

“Cain, are you listening?” Tatiana asked. “You look damn grim for someone who defeated a creature like that thing.”

Sacrifices had to be made. I studied the cybernetic devices attached to the monster, my eyes traveling to the dome behind it. “Sorry, Tatiana. I was distracted. Will you help me check on my sister?”

“Sure thing, Cain,” she said. “Then what?”

“I’ll figure out which parts of that beast are attached to the Black Phoenix and take them. After I learn to use it, I have to go someplace,” I said, so dazed it felt like a dream.

* * *

Hannah hugged me without a word. Trembling with hypothermia, I thought she was fighting back tears. When she eventually pulled back, I looked her in the eye and there was something terrible hidden there. What had the son of a bitch done to her, Bug, and Henshaw?

Elise held a water for Henshaw, who clearly wanted it but had one hand to his mouth as though he might vomit. Bug leaned against the wall, staring into space. Physically, he’d endured captivity better than the others, but I was worried about him. The ordeal had forced an uncharacteristic maturity on the child.

Henshaw paused, then abruptly waved for the water and sipped gingerly from the tube as soon as it touched his lips. “Keep ships away from the dome. Even with that thing dead, the danger is too great. It was corrupted by the technology implanted in its head. The AI has known its host must die and search for a new home. That was what happened to the Lady Faith. She powered down before it took her.”

The man’s words sounded thin and far away because I didn’t want to hear them. Had the Black Phoenix destroyed X? How had I survived? How would I survive in the future?

“Cain,” Elise said. “Can you tell X to update the Jelly?”

I shook my head.

She narrowed her gaze, clearly pissed off at more bad news and determined to blame me. The kid was nearly as attached to my LAI as I was.

“X-37 went silent right before the fight. Now he won’t answer me,” I said, forcing myself to stand straight.

“Maybe Envoy or Coranth can do that,” she offered.

“Good idea. Where the hell are they?” I asked Elise, but Henshaw answered.

“Check the inside of the dome again. The creature mauled them pretty good. I doubt either of them are alive,” he said.

Glad for something to do, I dropped the rest of my screwed-up armor and went in with just my sidearm, a cigar, and banged up Reaper augmentations. Every part of my body hurt.

It took some searching, but I found them toward the back of the room, lying on the floor. Envoy sat with his back to Coranth’s back but the warrior Sansein was obviously dead, his torso void of breathing movements and his head tilted at a weird angle.

“Reaper,” Envoy said, struggling to lift a hand. “We must talk.”

I squatted next to him, searching his face for human emotions I could understand.

“Don’t touch the darkness. It will destroy you, your ship, and all that you hold dear,” Envoy said.

“Why did you do it?”

“No choice. The mother needs us. But maybe now she needs you.” Envoy made a whistling noise that didn’t sound healthy.

“Talk to me, Envoy.”

The miserable sound faltered and died. Real emotion crossed his visage—sadness. “We failed to secure the dark field. Coranth died trying to consume the dark human technology and I will soon follow.”

I waited, not knowing what questions to ask or what assurances would mean anything to the alien.

“We misunderstood what it was, Reaper. You call it the Dark Phoenix. It is many things: a collection of weapons, a shield, an artificial intelligence made for war and destruction,” Envoy said.

“Just like me.”

“Yes,” Envoy said. “Find a machine clever enough to bond with it but don’t let it have you. It must be negotiated with, not dominated. That was our mistake. When you form an alliance, the dark field will give you all you need to free the mother. Do that, and all offenses your race has made against mine will be forgiven. She cannot stay on Maglan, but you might.”

24

It took hours to catalog all the parts of the Black Phoenix. Weapons and armor were easy to identify. Shielding generators were less obvious and I wasn’t sure how to carry them. Worse, there didn’t seem to be a way to power them up. An AI was needed for that.

Henshaw limped around with a cane excitedly speculating on what each thing did. Tom helped him and made his own observations. Loren and his Regulars cleared all the nooks and crannies of the ruins, working side-by-side with several groups of Tatiana’s best people. It wasn’t a match made in heaven, but I thought we were seeing the beginnings of a true confederation between the adversaries.

For me, the half victory was like a dream. Most of the planet was still held by the Alon. President Coronas and Rejon had moved the fleet to another part of the system, trying to hide it and stay alive long enough for a miracle to save them. I needed to figure something out, put a stop to this invasion, and find Maglan. If what Envoy had told me was true, all I had to do was save one of his kind they called the mother. In return, the Sansein would become super allies—our only hope of staying free of people like the Union or the Alon or whatever else was out there in the galaxy.

I’d never felt this injured and broken down, but what was worse was the silence in my head. X-37 hadn’t made a sound since I defeated the Guardian of the Black Phoenix.

A voice whispered in my ear. “Reaper Cain…”

“X?” Excitement caused me to start pacing. “X!”

Elise, Tatiana, and everyone within earshot stopped, stared, and began laughing with relief.

“X! You’re back. Don’t ever scare me like that again!” It was all I could do not to jump and pump my fist into the air.

“Please proceed to the core of the dome. Descend through the hatch. Await further instruction,” X-37 said.

“There isn’t a hatch, X. We searched the entire building,” I said.

“Reaper Cain, send the others away.”

Dread grabbed me. “Elise, get everyone out of the building.”

“I’ll stay with you,” she said, then ordered everyone outside.

“Do not let Elise remain near us, Reaper Cain. Not if you care about her or the others,” X-37 said.

Henshaw pushed past Elise, staring at me like he’d seen a ghost. “What’s happening? Is something attacking your LAI.”

“You know it is,” I said. “Can’t your LAI feel it?”

“Mine was burnt out the moment we got here,” Henshaw said. “I don’t need mine like you need X. It was just a tool to me.”

“Elise, get everyone out of here!” My shouts stunned my friends. Tatiana gave me a hurt look but retreated when Path pulled on her arm.

“The Reaper knows what he is doing,” Path said.

Elise lingered a moment longer. “I should be here.”

It was a hard decision because she had earned the right to make her own choices, more so than anyone. We’d always been on a similar journey, escaping the Union and trying to find our true calling.

There is no point in arguing with Elise. She was going to follow me. I sensed there wasn’t time to debate the matter. X-37 gave me concise instructions. There was no attempted banter and the signal was weak.

“What’s wrong, Cain? Why can only you hear X? I have my channel open to him,” Elise said.

Shaking my head, I located the hatch and pressed a series of indentations to open it. “I can barely hear him. I think the Black Phoenix is a type of artificial intelligence that’s trying to take over X, either bond with him or destroy him and replace him.”

Elise went pale. “What happens to you?”

“I don’t know.”

Under the floor was a depression with a frame about my size. The Union had experimented with external chassis but had eventually gone to full armor instead.

This was something different, made from a strange dark colored alloy that seemed liquid in places. I could see power running through it like veins. In the center there was a band that looked like it would go over my shoulders and buckle in several places, including under my arms and then down toward my belt line.

“I don’t like the look of that,” Elise said.

I didn’t either but I kept my mouth shut.

“I don’t have much time, Reaper Cain. This event is quite outside any contingency or pre-programming. I cannot survive without your assistance and have no purpose other than to keep you from joining me in the darkness,” X-37 said.

Elise, by her expression, still couldn’t hear X.

“I think X is giving me a choice. The Black Phoenix is too much for him. Not even a ship’s AI like the Lady Faith can withstand its power,” I said.

“What the hell are you going to do? I don’t see how you can save your LAI. Let’s just get out of here,” Elise said.

“No, Elise. X is woven into my nerves.”

She pounded one fist into her palm. “You seemed fine until a few minutes ago. I don’t see how you have a choice.”

“You’re right,” I said, descending the ladder. At the bottom, I stopped. “This super weapon might kill us both, but without it, Wallach and Xad and Yansden are doomed.”

She said something, but the hatch closed, seemingly of its own volition, and I was left in literal darkness. Only pulsing energy veins of the exoskeleton broke up the darkness.

“Please put on the exoskeleton, Reaper Cain,” X 37 said.

“How do I know you’re X?”

“Ask me a question only I could answer, Reaper Cain.”

“What did I eat on Dreadmax?” A nasty taste filled my mouth at the memory.

“Gray gelatin from a medical locker,” X-37 said. “You argued that the room was a lounge despite all evidence to the contrary.”

“It wasn’t food, was it?” I asked.

“No, Reaper Cain. It was most likely a plasma sample from illegal experimentation done on prisoners years before you found it,” X-37 said. “I am about to draw an enormous amount of energy from your nervous system. There may be long term damage.”

I hesitated. “If that is your sales pitch, it needs work.”

“I may be destroyed—wiped—either way. You might survive if you abandon our attempt to master the Black Phoenix. It is more of a system than a single device, and I cannot describe the power it contains. Even if we succeed, there will be a price few humans are willing to pay,” X-37 said.

“And you brought me down here knowing that?”

X-37 beeped softly, one of the sounds he randomly made. This more than anything convinced me of his identity. “My analysis of your personality suggests you would pay any price to save Elise and the others.”

“You made the right call, X. Tell me what I have to do.”

The instructions were explicit. I tightened the exoskeleton until a cable attached to the back of the gear lifted me from the ground. Everything in my vision acquired a purple tint. Words and numbers I didn’t understand scrolled up a HUD like none I’d experienced. Needles plunged into my right forearm, neck, and legs, filling me with a cool sensation within seconds. The display changed again. X-37 pushed information at me faster than either of us could process.

Something was going wrong. X-37 talked but I couldn’t understand the words. Every muscle in my body cramped. My skin felt like it was burning off. Darkness took me and there were nightmares not even the last Reaper could embrace. When the hurricane of thoughts and emotions began to clear, I saw icons around the word CAIN.

“What are those, X?” I asked, my throat so raw the words were unrecognizable.

“The first layer are personal defense drones. The second layer are surveillance drones, quite invisible if my analysis is correct,” X-37 said, sounding much better than I did.

“What is the third layer? There are a lot of them,” I asked.

“Those are ships, Reaper Cain. I believe they are coded in such a way as to prevent Kalon or Alon attacks against them.”

“What are the diamond shaped icons?” Swallowing bile and ignoring throbbing pain in my head, I studied a well-organized menu. The words changed as X or the Black Phoenix AI translated them on the fly. “Is that you doing that, or it?”

“The AI has no personality as you would understand it. It is me and I am it, essentially,” X-37 said.

Something was off with my LAI but he seemed stable if strained by the ordeal. He had drawn energy from my nervous system. Aches and pains sprang up in places the recent battle hadn’t touched. All I wanted was to eat, sleep, and repeat for about five years.

Crawling out of the secret chamber was like bench pressing an attack shuttle. If the Black Phoenix exoskeleton was supposed to make me feel invincible, something wasn’t working. Everything weighed a ton. Nothing mattered more than getting a drink of water, and I wasn’t sure who I was or what I was supposed to be doing.

Elise was the first to see me. She pulled me forward, looking at my face in alarm. “Your Reaper eye is bleeding! What the hell did that thing do to you?”

“There was some mild hemorrhaging, Reaper Cain. All will be well,” X-37 assured me.

“You sound better at least,” I said. “Must be nice to be an algorithm. I feel like I was fired from a gun.”

“What was that phrase you used on rookies during your spec ops days? Suck it up, buttercup?” X-37 said.

“Wow, X. You went way back for that one.” I put a hand on Elise’s shoulder, hoping it would reassure her that I was okay. “I need to get cleaned up before our friends see me and freak out.”

“Then what?” Elise asked.

“Then we kick some Alon ass and go to Maglan,” I said, loving the simplicity of my new goals.

Elise didn’t seem satisfied.

“Envoy told me there is a Sansein they call the Mother imprisoned on Maglan. If we can free her, we can make Maglan a home better than this place,” I said.

“You promise?” she asked.

“Sure, kid.”

She stepped closer. “I’m holding you to that.”

EPILOGUE

A field of purple energy shimmered across the Jellybird’s shields, flaring into the void like the wings of a great burning creature. I was still learning to use my new toys, but I had learned a few things—like how to protect any ship I was in. Most of the drones and ships under my power were inoperative, but those that worked gave the Alon a shock during the first days of our counterattack. They pulled back to reassess. Coronas and Rejon regrouped the scattered fleet into a relatively small but effective fighting force.

The skies above Yansden were clear. Pushing the fleet back wasn’t enough. There were Alon troops on the ground punishing the locals, imprisoning some and slaughtering others.

“You are far from fully effective, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said.

“This can’t wait. We have to do something right now.” The cargo ramp opened to reveal the city passing underneath it. This was the third major change I had seen around the spaceport needle of Yandsen City. First there had been Neverseen terrorizing the nearly abandoned neighborhoods. Then there had been urban warfare as the locals resisted the invasion. Now the Alon had placed fortified machinegun posts at every major intersection, jump jets full of airborne assault troopers, and light tanks.

“Locke, are your people ready?” I asked.

“We’re good to go in sector one,” Locke replied.

“Loren, are you ready?” I watched the city through my HUD display as they answered.

“Moving up with tank killer teams now,” Loren said. “We also have combat engineers ready to storm the central power station.”

“Tatiana?”

“We’ve got a half dozen diversions ready to go,” Tatiana said. “Just say the word, Cain, and we’ll light this place up.”

I glanced over my shoulder. Elise, Path, and Briggs edged forward, eager to get in the action. The Slayer wore pieces of my ruined Archangel armor. I pulled two HDK Furies from the back of my exoskeleton and activated my personal energy field.

“I’ve got a good feeling about this,” I said to my team. “I think it’s going to be fun.”

“You’re the jumpmaster, Cain,” Elise said. “Say when.”

* * *

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CAIN, X-37, and ELISE return in BASTION OF THE REAPER, available now on Amazon.

IMPORTANT TERMS AND CHARACTERS

SHIPS

(RWS = Republic of Wallach Ship)

BRIGHT LANCE OF XAD

- Flag ship of the Xad fleet

- Captured from the Union in Flight of the Reaper, TLR 5

- Captain: Cynthia Thomas Younger

- Executive Officer: Commander Bernard Gile

HUNTER OF XAD

- Captain Omon

STRIKER OF XAD

- Captain: Yolanda Dempsy

RWS BATTLE AXE

- With Jellybird scouting new system after Macabre

- Captain Hunger

RWS JUMPING FOX

- Captain: Jaime Peterson

RWS SPIRIT OF WALLACH

- Flag ship of the Republic of Wallach fleet

- Captain: Quincy Drysdale

- Ship the President of Wallach, Amanda Coronas, travels on. (She does not command the ship.)

- Ship that carries General Karn’s main army

* * *

CHARACTERS IN HUNT OF THE REAPER

Briggs - Former Union special operations commander, now a genetically modified monster called a Slayer. His human and Sansein DNA are constantly struggling for dominance, causing radical changes to his physique and mental abilities.

Cain - Halek Cain, the last Reaper

Coranth - Sansein warrior

Elise - Elise Hastings, protege of the last Reaper

Envoy - Sansein leader and liaison to humanity

Hannah - Hannah Cain, the long-lost younger sister of Halek Cain

Hutton - Admiral of the Wallach-Xad exodus fleet

Jelly - AI of the Jellybird

Novasdaughter - Captain Amii Novasdaughter, acting vice admiral of the Wallach-Xad defensive fleet and captain of the Nightmare.

Locke - Chief Squad Leader (CSL) of Wallach.

Loren - Commander Loren Jacem, leader of the Kalon Regulars—the most professional fighting force on Yansden

Oberland - Admiral Braxton Oberland of the 1344th Alon Grand Fleet

Path - Grigori Path, a sword saint and weapons master who joined Cain’s crew after Roxo II

Tatiana - Granddaughter of Melina, leader of the largest compound in Yansden City

Tobias - Commander Peter Tobias of the 1237th Alon Grand Fleet

Tam - A Yansden guide

Tom - Self taught engineer and friend of the last Reaper

* * *

GLOSSARY

Alon strike group - three corvette class ships, one battle cruiser, and one support ship

Sansein - Aliens first named in The Last Reaper 7, Will of the Reaper

Slayer - Human/Alien hybrid first seen in The Last Reaper

* * *

PLACES

Gronic - planet in the Deadlands

New Salon - homeworld of the Alon

Wallach - home world left behind by the people of Wallach after several natural disasters

Xad - home world left behind by the people of Xad after hundreds of years of space battles, a comet, and other issues made it unsuitable for human habitation.

Yansden – planet deep within Alon space

* * *

POLITICS

Republic of Wallach

- President Amanda Coronas

- General Karn

- Admiral Cliff Hutton

- CSL Locke

Xad

- Brion Rejon, leader of Xad

- Captain Cynthia Thomas Younger, highest ranking officer in the Xad Fleet.

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* * *

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RENEGADE STAR UNIVERSE

CLICK THE TITLES BELOW TO FIND THEM ONLINE

The Renegade Star Series

They say the Earth is just a myth. Something to tell your children when you put them to sleep, the lost homeworld of humanity. Everyone knows it isn't real, though. It can't be.

But when Captain Jace Hughes encounters a nun with a mysterious piece of cargo and a bold secret, he soon discovers that everything he thought he knew about Earth is wrong. So very, very wrong.

Climb aboard The Renegade Star and assemble a crew, follow the clues, uncover the truth, and most importantly, try to stay alive.

The Last Reaper Series

When a high value scientist is taken hostage inside the galaxy's most dangerous prison, Halek Cain is the only man for the job.

The last remaining survivor of the Reaper program, Hal is an unstoppable force of fuel and madness. A veteran amputee-turned-cyborg, he has a history of violence and a talent for killing that is unmatched by any soldier.

With the promise of freedom as his only incentive, he’ll stop at nothing to earn back his life from the people who made him, imprisoned him, and were too afraid to let him die.

The Orion Colony Series

Humanity’s Exodus is about to begin.

When half of mankind revolts and demands more opportunity, those at the top decide on a compromise: they will build the first colony ships and allow those who are willing to discover new worlds to leave and start over.

Twelve ships are built, the first of which is called Orion. Many are eager to go, but only one hundred thousand are chosen for each vessel. Far from Earth, a new life awaits, and it promises the prosperity they’ve always wanted.

But still, resistance stirs, eager to sabotage this new expansion effort, threatening the promise of a new life. As Orion moves through the void of space, towards a distant world, its passengers must fight for survival in an unprecedented conflict.

Win or lose, their future will be forever changed.

The Fifth Column Series

After a soldier is left for dead, Eva Delgado's life begins to unravel.

The truth of what happened remains a mystery, and the government will stop at nothing to keep it buried.

Together with the unit's medic, Eva finds herself branded a terrorist and enemy of the State, hunted by two opposing governments.

When the pair uncover a plot that could have ramifications for the whole galaxy, they know they have to act, but it will take all of their training, cunning and just a bit of luck to do what no one else has achieved.

But what do you do when every secret begets another? And how far will you go to find the truth?

Nameless (Abigail’s Story)

Abigail and Clementine were just a couple of orphans looking for a home.

But when the two girls witness something terrible, they have no choice but to leave their orphanage and go into hiding. The only person willing to take them in is a man named Mulberry, but his home isn't the safest place for two innocent children.

Abigail and Clementine quickly discover that their new caretaker is the head of a guild of assassins, and the two are thrown into a whole new world of danger. To survive, they'll need to adapt, focus, and learn how to survive in a world of killers.

The Constable (Alphonse’s Story)

My name is Alphonse Malloy, and I see everything.

From a simple glance, I know your hobbies, what you ate for breakfast, how well you slept, and whether or not your wife is secretly seeing the high school biology teacher when you're not around.

I can't explain how or why I get these feelings, only that I know they're true.

All the little secrets you're too afraid to tell.

Sometimes, that means helping people. Other times, it means staring down the barrel of a loaded gun.

I wish I could tell you I was using this ability for good.

I wish I could tell you a lot of things.

* * *

The Constable Returns

Alphonse Malloy may just be the smartest man alive.

A year has passed since Alphonse joined the Constables, but his work is only just beginning. In order to graduate and achieve full Constable status, Alphonse will need to complete one final mission.

When new information about an old enemy arises, Al and his mentor Dorian must head deep into the Deadlands in search of answers.

But in a galaxy of secrets, the truth is often more elusive than it seems.

As the search continues, Alphonse's talents will be pushed to their absolute limit, and he'll need everything he's learned to make it out of this one alive.

Warrior Queen (Lucia’s Story)

On a lost world, far removed from Earth, a group of humans struggle to survive.

Two thousand years after their ancestors lost control of a hidden genetics research facility, the descendants of mankind have been reduced to a tribe of two hundred survivors. They fight, kill, and die in an endless cycle, all in the hope that things will get better.

Lucia is one of these colonists and the daughter of the tribe's leader, the Director. Together with several other candidates, she must soon undergo a trial to decide her father's replacement. The winner will shape the future of the entire colony.

But the trial is dangerous, meant to test each candidate's wits and strengths to see who is truly worthy. To claim victory, Lucia will need to venture out into the tunnels near the city to search for lost artifacts known as Cores--small but powerful devices capable of harnessing endless energy.

But there are monsters here, waiting in the dark, and they are always hungry. Beware the Boneclaw, Lucia's father use to tell her, for it lives only to kill and to feed.

Lucia must do whatever it takes, learn as much as she can, and fight with every ounce of strength if she hopes to make it through the day.

Forget winning the trial. The real challenge is staying alive.

Resonant Son Series

30 floors of nightmare fueled action. An ex-cop with nothing left to lose.

After losing his job and family, Flint Reed finds himself in the middle of a terrorist attack. With nothing but his wits and experience as a former Union police officer, he must do everything he can to stay alive.

As he soon discovers, however, there are also hostages, and no one is coming to save them.

All hope falls to Flint.

But as he fights to navigate the building, the real answers begin to unravel. What are the terrorists really after, and why are they so intent on getting into the vault?

Experience the beginning of the Resonant Son series. If you're a fan of Die Hard, Renegade Star, or the Last Reaper, you'll love this epic scifi thrill ride.

Galactic Law Series

Lethal force is authorized.

In the wild space of the Deadlands, Taurus Station is where miners and tourists come to play, and the ravager gangs follow close behind. Out here, far from the civilized world, the Law has a name.

Gage Walker is the son of hard-nosed asteroid miners. Brash, rough, and crude, he's one of the few deputies working the station.

Still a rookie, Walker is tasked with the security of a mining magnate's daughter, an easy job that quickly takes a turn for the worst.

The ravager gangs want her, and it falls to Walker to find out why.

In a chase across Taurus Station, Deputy Walker must prove he's fit to wear the badge and issue his own form of justice...one body at a time.

Deadland Drifter Series

When a dental appointment goes sideways, former Union Operative Jack Burner wakes to find himself drugged, and imprisoned.

And he's given a choice: assassinate an Admiral... or allow himself to be killed.

With no other option, Jack reluctantly accepts the mission, only to find himself being trailed by a mysterious blonde woman... and she may or may not want him dead.

As if dealing with a terrorist group wasn't enough.

With the fate of the Admiral and thousands of lives on hanging in the balance, Jack stands in the middle of an event that could ignite a war on the edge of the Deadlands and Union Space.

Despite his exceptional abilities, training, and tenancy, even Jack has little to no chance of preventing this particular powder keg from exploding.

He's going to need a miracle.

The Renegade Series

Jace Hughes is a Renegade.

That means taking jobs and not asking questions, whether that involves smuggling, transporting runnaways, or performing other, far less wholesome work. Whatever the situation, Jace is willing to do what it takes to achieve his dream and live the life he’s always wanted.

That is, until he comes face to face with an item of unprecedented value—something that could give him everything he needs to pay off his debt and be free.

The only problem is that selling it would also shift the balance of power between the two largest empires in the galaxy.

And spark another intergalactic war.

Unfortunately for Jace, he won’t have long to decide. Renegades, assassins, and government cronies are after the item, too, and unlike Jace, they won’t hesitate to kill.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

J. N. Chaney is a USA Today Bestselling author and has a Master's of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. He fancies himself quite the Super Mario Bros. fan. When he isn’t writing or gaming, you can find him online at www.jnchaney.com.

He migrates often, but was last seen in Las Vegas, NV. Any sightings should be reported, as they are rare.

* * *

Scott Moon has been writing fantasy, science fiction, and urban fantasy since he was a kid. When not reading, writing, or spending time with his awesome family, he enjoys playing the guitar or learning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He loves dogs and plans to have a ranch full of them when he makes it big. One will be a Rottweiler named Frodo. He is also a co-host of the popular Keystroke Medium show. You can find him online at http://www.scottmoonwriter.com