Genesis (The Exodus Trilogy) (13 page)

“So this is what our children will inherit,” Tina said, though she didn’t seem to expect an answer.
Yes
, Kenneth thought,
as always
.

Tina hammer

Tina watched the men loosen the moorings, and smiled at them, quietly thanking them for their help. She had thought about going for some time, and after their meeting yesterday, she had decided she needed to. For her own sanity, if for nothing else. She had duty and service ingrained in her… but she was sick of it all. She needed to think of something else for a while.

There was another reason for going, as well, her official reason. She planned to go straight to the cave where Maria and the others had discovered the Akhab. Although most attention had been given to the humanoids on the murals, the Akhab were a mystery in themselves. The humanoids had left, seemingly on friendly terms with the Akhab, but why? And did it mean something to humans today?

She had discussed it with Thomas the day before leaving. He seemed reluctant to believe the story told in the murals.

“Those are myths; every culture has them, and the older they get, the more impressive they get. Or maybe it’s the other way around, and we really forget just how impressive the reality behind the myths can be?” He had leaned back, stretching his back, sore from being too close to the blast that destroyed their forward base on the Trickler. Tina could see what Maria saw in this guy; he was smart and handsome, and he had a quirky sense of humor, often with a touch of seriousness to it.

“You know what I would like to know?” he had continued. She had urged him on.

“I would like to know what’s not on the murals. I wonder what their secrets are; their forgotten history. Do the Akhab have some deep, dark secret, hidden behind the official history, in the layers beneath the murals?” He smiled for a moment before he turned serious again.

“I don’t believe the Akhab are as helpless as they want us to believe, or as simple. For all I know, they might have some knowledge that could prove useful to the fight we’re facing…” He had trailed off.

Now Tina had a hard time letting the thought of that conversation go. There might be secrets up there, in the cave of the Akhab. She was looking forward to speaking with Maria Solis, who seemed to have bonded with these creatures.

Some part of her felt guilty for leaving the war planning, if even for a few days. She knew everything was in good hands, though. Colonel Quellar would be in charge while she was gone. Although she didn’t like the woman, she was a competent commander, who had already proven her worth several times. Tina smiled as she thought of it; every team, every unit, even their commanders—they had to learn how to work together again.

Once again, she felt a pang of regret. If only Greg had been here. He should have led the fight. She missed Greg Hamilton the man even more than the admiral. But he was dead. And even though both Havelar and Quellar carried the direct responsibility for the massacre on the Trickler, sometimes justice isn’t an option.

She shook it off.

She steered carefully toward the middle of the river, where the water was deepest. The journey north would take at least two days, and she looked forward to the solitude. She turned around and looked back at the figures growing smaller back on the docks. She waved one last time, and they waved back. A basic human acknowledgment, a gesture of good faith, a wish for safe journey to the traveler. She smiled and put the Stronghold behind her, heading north to new discoveries.

Nick gilbert

How long had he been here? In the darkness, it was hard to discern night from day, but he had found that since he was being regularly fed, he could use that as a reference. He had no idea how long he’d been unconscious or semi-conscious, but he estimated he’d been captive for at least two weeks, possibly more.

After the first few days, they had taken off the chains in order for him to eat. At first, they had been careful, keeping one man in the corner covering him with his rifle. After a while though, it seemed they relaxed a bit. After all, he’d told them everything he knew, made no attempts to escape, and generally had given them little resistance. He knew it would be futile and a waste of strength, but it seemed they took his compliance as a sign of weakness. His captors had become careless, which was exactly what he’d been hoping for.

He threw his plate in the face of the surprised guard and leapt at him. He banged his fists into the guard’s body again and again, aiming for his kidneys, where he knew it would hurt the most. Then he smashed his nose in with a powerful head butt before the guard could put up any kind of resistance. He pushed the limp guard aside and darted out the door. Outside, there was one more guard. This one raised his weapon, but Nick beat him to it and punched him in the chest, ripping the rifle out of his hands before he could squeeze off a round. He had a weapon now. This changed everything. He grinned. No one came running. No alarms to be heard. He looked around, eyes hurting from the brightness of the fluorescent lights. He saw a door at the end of the corridor and ran toward it. He had no facemask, and if he reached the outside, he would have to breathe Aurora air. The thought frightened him, but he knew it was breathable. And he’d heard the stories of the kids, the supernatural speed and strength. Actually that didn’t seem too bad—it might even save his life. And from the way these guys had slaughtered his buddies, he knew Havelar needed to know as much as possible, as soon as possible. Nick might be the only one on the planet who knew what they were.

He reached the doorway and looked around. No one yet. He turned the knob carefully, and found no resistance. Curious. He pushed the door open and knew his escape attempt was over even before it had begun.

“Ah, Mr. Gilbert. There you are. I wondered what took you so long.” The officer with the long scar smiled. Behind him, half a dozen officers stood waiting, and on either side stood soldiers armed with some kind of short sticks, which seemed to be buzzing. Electric, Nick thought briefly.

“Now please, put down that rifle. The ammunition isn’t real you know. Come, come! Have a look at this magnificent view.” Nick moved his attention to the porthole behind the officers, and saw his planet as he had seen it a year ago, from orbit.

“Our troops have already taken this… Fort Andrews I believe they call it, and soon we will be mopping up the north. I expect us to be in total control of Aurora by summer.” The officer turned to look out at the view of the planet.

“You see, our world turned out to be almost dead by the time we reached it. A world of scarce resources and no breathable atmosphere. No place to sustain us in the long run. Now this world… It is astonishingly beautiful, don’t you think? A paradise, like in the books from Earth. I have often envied my ancestors, who could live in such a place. Soon though, we will, too.” Nick still gaped at the view. He was in space. How had that happened? Had he been here all this time?

“I know you don’t think you have any more information to give us, Mr. Gilbert, but I assure you, your knowledge of your culture is of great value to us. So if you continue to cooperate, you will keep your life. Some day, you may even become one of us. We don’t have any… Americans… yet. But although most of us are racially superior to your kind, we like to think of ourselves as humans first and foremost. Some of our people are of non-Chinese heritage, or mixed. So your inferior birth should not be much of an impediment. Given time and proper education, I think you will fit right in with the workers.”

Shefania

Shefania was walking silently through the woods, guided by the light of the moon, with its strange green-tinged hue. Only the occasional chirp or distant roar from one of the indigenous creatures broke the night’s silence. Her lander was safely hidden in a lake far to the west, and her suit was almost invisible in the dark. It had been only a few hours, but she had already had to take several breaks. Her full strength had not yet returned to her after waking from decades of sleep. Even with the neural enhancers on full effect, she knew it would be weeks until she was her old self.

Still, she couldn’t wait any longer. The humans of this world needed to know the truth. Originally, her plan had been to observe only, but that had changed when she realized that another group had also come here. That last group scared her, and from what she had seen, she had decided to take matters into her own hands and seek out the ones who had come first. She knew she risked much just by being here on the surface. If the captain’s council decided against her, she could face harsh punishment. For now though, the others were still sleeping, and she intended to keep it that way until the situation had resolved. She wouldn’t risk having to abandon these kin to their fate, just because they were different.

It was strange, after so long aboard the Seedseeker, to be able to walk on solid ground again. This place was different from Sanctuary in so many ways, but also similar. The temperature felt about the same, with crisp air and a gentle touch of warmth from the star during the day. But where Sanctuary was the blue and gray of steel and glass, this place was green. So many trees! On Sanctuary, only the preserves had this much woodland. Granted, the preserves on Sanctuary were large, spanning a third of the planet, but people were seldom allowed to go there, except for the rangers. Her sister was a ranger, while Shefania had more of an analytical mind. So when the time came to choose paths, they had parted ways, neither able to understand the motivations of the other. Now though, she understood. The green world was more beautiful than she could ever have imagined, but it was the sounds—or that special absence of sounds—that impressed her the most. And the fresh air, she thought as she took a deep lungful.

Just as she was enjoying the silence, a screech pierced through the night, causing a flock of those small, flying creatures that fascinated her so much to take flight. The screech was close; too close. Shefania looked around, carefully raising her protec and flicking off the safety. Another screech. Closer. This time, Shefania was able to locate where it came from. Southeast, less than a hundred meters off, and closing fast. Something really bad was coming for her.

The balder lunged at her, but she dodged it, barely. She had observed these fearsome creatures, and for some reason, she had gotten used to the name the humans down here had given them. It’s fearsome teeth and sharp claws could tear her apart in seconds. The beast circled her, sniffing at her, challenging her. Shefania stood frozen. Only her eyes followed the balder as it shuffled its feet around, choosing how to attack her. It tossed its head and screeched again, baring its razor-sharp teeth. The smell of its breath nearly knocked her off her feet. Shefania carefully pointed her protec at the beast. Her hands shook. She didn’t know why; she was trained for this sort of situation. There’s a difference between training, however realistic, and the real thing, she thought. She gritted her teeth, and pressed her thumb down hard.

The flash blinded her for a second, and she almost got knocked down by the balder as it charged wildly forward. She regained her balance and watched the balder lurch to a stop. It turned, and a black hole appeared in its lower face, blood spewing out where its teeth had been. Now only a scattering remained, and the sound that escaped it sounded more like a whimper than anything else. Shefania felt almost sorry as she aimed the protec again and finished the beast off in another quick blast.

She didn’t waste any time as she holstered her weapon and started walking again. She had a mission, and nothing would stop her. The spy drones had found several candidates, but it was Shefania who made the final decision. It was important that the one she chose had flexibility of the mind, and a certain clout with the others, but even more important was that the one chosen had a particular spiritual mindset. Shefania needed someone who would instinctively make the right decisions, someone selfless, someone who would know right from wrong and use his or her gift to do good things. Shefania brought the gift of knowledge, and once shared, the recipients would never be the same again.

Shefania had a long way to go, but she knew where she would find the one she sought.

Tina hammer

Tina sat silently waiting for the food to heat. Her belly rumbled impatiently, and she sniffed at the cooking meat. She was starving! She didn’t like hunting—it reminded her too much of survival training and a couple of real-life situations, as well. But she did enjoy the results, and the area around the Stronghold had an abundance of game. She had brought a few packs of it, not wanting to take too many M.R.E.s with her. After all, those would one day run out, and they were very useful for soldiers and future expeditions.

As she ate her meal, she thought about the Akhab. She was eagerly anticipating her arrival. Just half a day to go now. Maria Solis would be there, as well as her mother Isabella. Tina respected the way the former businesswoman had seemed to change George Havelar’s view of certain issues, but she was still wary around her. Maria though, had something special about her, something that led her to like the young woman. She clearly had that effect on the Akhab, as well, from what Kenneth had told her. No one truly understood the Akhab, but Maria seemed to be… chosen by them, somehow.