Star Runners 2: Revelation Protocol (12 page)

“Stop!” Cyclops boomed, his good eye wide. “Drop your tools and fall into a line. We’re heading back to the barn. Once there, you will go straight to sleep. We didn’t finish our goals today, you lousy sacks of dung. No dinner for you. Perhaps this will teach you to work instead of spending the day lounging in the sun. Let’s move it!”

Josh’s stomach turned with the mention of dinner, but the pains throughout the rest of his body took over. He tossed the rusted tool into the field, knowing he would return at first light, and shuffled his feet into line. Waylon bumped sweaty shoulders with him, his large frame gasping for breath.

The two lines of prisoners marched forward. Cyclops and his minions barked orders along the line. One guard smacked two men near the front of the line. Josh flinched at the sound of skin smacking into skin. War was brutal, he knew that much. But fighting in a spacecraft at least shielded you from the horrors of death and suffering. In fact, he struggled to remind himself a kill in his fighter ended another person’s life.

He sighed.

He might never fly a Trident again …

“You two,” Cyclops pointed at Josh and Waylon. “Step out of line and come over here.”

Josh sucked in his breath. “Me?”

“Yeah you!”

Josh stepped out of the line with Waylon next to him. Cyclops raised his hand and waited for the rest of the line to pass by. What did he want? Did he somehow know they planned an escape? Had he seen something to doubt the fact they were beaten prisoners?

“I saw you two lovebirds talking earlier today,” Cyclops said in a remarkably calm tone, his good eye separately taking in both of them. “Don’t even bother denying it.”

He spit on Josh’s leg. The brown liquid slid down his skin like a slimy snake. Josh closed his eyes for a moment, trying to hide his disdain for the man.

Josh shifted his weight between his feet. “It didn’t affect our work, sir.”

“So, you admit you were talking? What was the big topic for today? You braiding each other’s hair later? Hmmm?” He slapped Waylon across the face and turned to Josh. “Or will this one hold you when the sun goes down, and it gets cold?”

Josh opened his mouth to speak, but Cyclops hit him hard enough to see stars.

“You just lost your dinner privileges tomorrow as well,” he grumbled. “Tonight, I want both of you refueling those ships over there and waxing the hulls until I can see my face in them. I want it done before daylight. If Rodon complains about his fighter, I will be the least of your worries. Got it?”

Josh nodded. So Dax Rodon was here, he thought. “Yes, sir.”

Josh glance at Delmar, who nodded. Guards led Waylon and Josh to the fighters. The hulls appeared to be stitched together with chewing gum and dirt. Josh counted three different colors of metal welded together in the first vessel. As he walked closer, he noticed the fighter’s long narrow nose and the wings bristling with an assortment of weapons like the pilot couldn’t choose his favorite. Actually, this was probably the truth. Pirates were not known for the failure to shoot back, and with wings with this amount of weapons, Josh believed it.

“You are to wash and clean these fighters till they shine,” Cyclops barked. “When you’re done, you’ll refuel’em and, if there still time before daylight, you can catch some sleep before you go back to the fields. Your choice. Get to work.”

Waylon moved to clean the next fighter while Josh began with a modified Trident fighter. Using a ladder, they cleaned the entire ship. The pirates grilled an animal of some kind a dozen yards from the ships. Josh shivered at the sizzling smell of cooking meat. It smelled of barbecues and afternoon baseball games in the lush grass of a summer backyard under a sky blue enough to make you squint. Mom and Dad used to marvel at these afternoons. Austin would come over when they were young, and they would play until the sun set behind the trees. Even then, they would continue whatever game they played in the dark unless they were called into the house. Mom might order a pizza or let them rent a movie, and they would spend the night seeing who could stay up the latest.

He shook his head, focusing on the task at hand. If he ever wanted the chance to have any life again, he had to survive this first.

The guards finished eating and sat around a fire under a star-filled sky. Some dozed where they finished eating while others talked quietly, the weapons never far from their reach. Josh glanced at Waylon on top of a fighter, scrubbing down the hull.

The cool night air drifted in from the plains. Josh shivered slightly, wishing he had a thicker shirt on as the air swirled around him. A blue moon illuminated the sky in the distance, but, fortunately, no clouds loomed. Maybe the rain wouldn’t add to the misery tonight.

The black sky began to lighten in the distance. How short were the nights on this planet? Better yet, how long had they been working on this project? Josh had cleaned his two fighters and Waylon had already started refueling his pair. Waylon leaned on the hull, his eyes closing for a long moments before reopening.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but something has changed.” A guard near the fire grumbled. “Rodon’s up to something.”

“’Bout time if you ask me,” another responded. “We’ve been raiding freighters for a long time, we need to hit something big to get our share. I’m getting tired of doing this without any scratch to show for it.”

Josh tried to keep working and listen at the same time. The two guards talking must have been the only two still awake, but he didn’t want to draw attention to himself.

“Scratch is coming, for sure.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Word has it we’ve been stockpiling our goods for a surprise raid on a Legion planet.”

“Legion? That’s suicide.”

“No, not this one. Heard the other guys saying this one’s dark. Should be a cakewalk if we have the supplies and have you seen all the stuff coming across the border for us? Never seen so much merchandise coming into camp. It’s like a holiday. More supposedly on the way, too.”

“When?”

“I don’t know. Soon.”

Josh’s eyes widened. He finished cleaning his second fighter and looked over at Waylon, who fueled the second vessel. Had he heard? If Josh heard right, the Tyral Pirates planned to attack a Legion dark world soon. Josh glanced back to the guards by the fire and noticed their gaze focused on the smoldering fire.

Josh swallowed and strolled toward Waylon. If anyone asked, he would say he needed the fuel for his pair of fighters. Waylon leaned against the fighter; his eyes closed tight.

“Waylon, did you hear that?” Josh asked.

“Every word,” he said, his eyes still shut. “I have a plan.”

“What is it?” Josh asked, kneeling down as if he worked on the fuel pumper.

“We need to act beaten, defeated.” He stared at Josh. “When they think they have their perfect, obedient slave force we take these fighters and escape.” 

Josh nodded. “We need to do it fast. I need to warn my people.”

“Not my business. Besides, there’s no sense talking about that, yet,” he said, disconnecting the fuel line as he topped off the ship. “Gotta get out of here first.” 

The winding roads of North Georgia stretched for miles. When Chief Javin Sharkey advised their destination was twenty miles away, Austin thought they were close. After sliding back and forth across the seat for what seemed like forever, he wondered if twenty minutes in mountain road time was different than highway time. Mom and Kadyn grunted from the back but had otherwise been silent since they left the outlet mall. As the sun moved to the center of the sky, Austin’s head pounded. He leaned back in the seat and stared at the tall trees passing the car. For the first time, he realized he hadn’t slept since he arrived in Atlantis yesterday.

Had it only been yesterday? 

His last true sleep had been on Tarton’s Junction the night before he left. Skylar had come to say goodbye to him. She seemed sad. He couldn’t believe, after all, the time they spent at the Tizona School they were now on their own. She would soon finish her training, and he wouldn’t be there to see it happen. He needed to get a message to her and Bear, let them know he was alright. Of course, he didn’t know if he believed it himself. Ryker would be in the midst of rehab by now, somewhere on the other side of the galaxy. He gazed out the window, thinking of the last time they spoke. Ryker “Scorpion” Zyan seemed so weak and fragile on the infirmary bed. She no longer had the emotional wall in front of her, protecting her from the evils of the world. She had gripped his hand softly. He closed his eyes, picturing her face.

“You awake, Lieutenant?” Sharkey asked.

“Yes, sir. Of course.”

“We’re close. Activate the shroud again, will you?”

Austin opened the glove box and did as instructed.

“How long can we use the shroud?” Austin asked, thinking of the power drain on his Trident when he used the shrouding technology.

“Not long,” Sharkey said. “I want it activated when we reach our turn, though.”

Sharkey eased into a long winding turn. Boulders loomed at the side of the road, casting dark shadows in the sunlight. A red reflector on the side of the road glistened in the midday sun. Sharkey applied the brakes and turned right, the tires bouncing onto a dirt two-path road. Long weeds sprouted from the center of the path and nearly concealed the view beyond. The weeds brushed against the bottom of the car.

“Shroud off,” Sharkey said.

“Got it.” Austin pressed the button, the light around the car growing brighter. “It’s off.”

The thick forest canopy blocked out most of the faint sunlight. The small beams of light that did escape looked ethereal, illuminating the rotting wood, moss and mushrooms of the forest floor. The car bounced, the tires crashing into a deep hole in the dirt road.

“Sorry,” Sharkey said, glancing back to the women in the back seat. “We obviously haven’t had the need to use this in quite some time.”

“What is this?” Austin asked, grabbing the door handle in preparation for the next bounce.

“A safe house.” Sharkey looked in his rearview mirror.

“I gathered that, but what is it? We need to contact command.”

“I know,” he grumbled, negotiating a sharp turn in the small path. “Part of the Revelation Protocol prohibits open communication anywhere but a safe house. These places were set up by the government decades ago and utilize landlines to avoid or at least limit the chances of interception.”

“Landlines? You mean actual cables going to Base Prime?”

“Exactly. When most of the world transitioned to cellular networks and VoIP, miles and miles of analog lines were left dormant or were sold cheap. The Legion government has been scooping these up for a day like this.”

“Oh.” Austin shook his head and turned back. “You guys alright?”

Mom and Kadyn nodded. Black circles puffed under Mom’s eyes and Kadyn’s seared red. Austin sighed. While he had been under stress, they had experienced a long, strange night. He remembered his first revelation of the “real world” after he transported to California. Although it happened fast, he had Nubern to ease the transition. His mother and Kadyn had to adjust to this reality while they ran from unknown attackers. He tried to show strength for both of them, but the fatigue started to weigh on him. His hands shook as the image of masked laser bolts sizzling over his head flashed repeatedly in his mind. What if they had hit Kadyn? Or Mom?

He shuddered.

After more than ten minutes of traveling through dense woods, the path opened into a clearing large enough for a wooden cabin with an outbuilding behind it sealed with a silver padlock. The grass in the clearing reached as high as the car doors. Tree branches stretched overhead, nearly covering the cabin and the clearing from the air. Sharkey turned off the car, and the four of them sat in silence until Austin’s ears hummed with a ringing sound.

Sharkey exhaled. “We made it. Looks like we’re in the clear for now.” He turned to Austin. “You think you could patch up my shoulder? It’s burning.”

Austin blinked. “Okay. Let’s go.”

“I could help if you need it, sweetie,” Mom said.

He smiled. “She is a nurse.”

“I know,” Sharkey said. “Let’s move.”

With thoughts of his basic first aid course on Tarton’s Junction running through his mind, Austin opened the door. The quiet of the forest surprised him. No air conditions working or the constant drone of nearby traffic interrupted the forest. A bird called from far away to break the peace. Austin took a breath of the musty, damp air.

He opened the back door and helped Kadyn to her feet. Her pale face grimaced as she stood in the dirt-stained pink pajamas still damp from the frantic crawl across her lawn. Kadyn’s eyes barely opened, strands of curly hair covering her right eye. 

“Maybe there’s something inside for you to change into,” Austin said, gripping her trembling hand.

Mom slid across the back seat and stood without assistance.

“My head’s feeling better,” she said. “If it was carbon monoxide, you two found me at the right time.”

Austin smiled. “I think so.” He gestured to Sharkey. “I might need your help with him.”

Gripping his blackened shoulder, Sharkey walked across the thigh-high grass still wet with dew. The water droplets splattered his shirt, darkening the fabric. He produced a key card from his pocket and waved it in front of what looked like a doorbell. The button came to life in a yellow light and transitioned to green. The wooden door opened to reveal darkness. One-by-one, lights inside the cabin popped on and hummed to life.

“Let me guess, chief,” Austin said, “there’s an underground room with sim pods just waiting for us.”

Sharkey snorted. “Hardly.”

The beaten wood outside of the cabin disguised the cleanliness of the interior. A black radio with a headset and a microphone sat on a workbench covered with cobwebs in the corner. Two couches faced one another in the center of the room with a fireplace at one end and a table at the other. A green freezer with a row of cabinets lined the wall near the workbench. The room’s sole window faced the front of the cabin and the Tizona car.

“Cozy,” Austin said.

“I’ll say,” Mom said.

Sharkey shuffled over to the couch and collapsed. He grunted and winced. Austin moved over to the chief and cut off the rest of blackened uniform sleeve. The skin beneath had been torn apart, twisted and burnt. Austin winced.

“I know it looks bad,” Sharkey said, his eyes still closed. “It could have been worse.”

“Mom, check the cabinet for first aid and bring some cold water.”

“I got it,” she said, her tone shifting into nurse mode.

“Kadyn, sit down and try to rest,” Austin said, picking out pieces of fabric with his fingers from Sharkey’s wound. “We may not get another chance for a while.”

     “A while? Am I stuck here with you guys?” Kadyn asked.

Austin frowned. “You’re not stuck.”

“Then can I call my parents?”

“It’s not safe, yet, to use any devices. I’m sure your parents are fine.”

Mom returned with the first-aid kit and popped open the silver box. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” she said.

Austin remembered his first aid training and grabbed the steel cylinder. “I have. This will reform tissue.”

Mom blinked. “You can’t do that.”

“I know I can’t.” He held up the cylinder. “But this can.”

Mom watched as he worked, applying the knowledge he had learned from his training. She smiled.

“I’m so proud of you, Austin.”

“Thanks, Mom.” He smiled. “You don’t know how many times I wanted to tell you about all this.”

“I know you would have if you could have.”

“I didn’t tell you at first because it was against the rules, but later I wanted to keep you safe,” he said, his attention on Sharkey’s treatment. “But Nubern made an offer when I left I had hoped you would consider. That was, of course, before all of this happened.”

She blinked, shifting her head to the side. “What offer? For me?”

“Yeah. He had said you might be able to join a Legion Medical Frigate or something like it.”

She gazed over his head into nothingness. “On a ship? In space? I don’t know.”

“I know how you feel,” he said, nodding. “I didn’t know, either.”

Austin focused his attention on Sharkey’s wound. It took less than an hour for Sharkey’s arm to transition from blackened and burnt to hairless and light pink. Austin wiped sweat from his brow.

“Nice job, Lieutenant,” Sharkey said, his voice weak. “If nobody minds, I’d like to take a few minutes.”

“Not at all, chief.”

“Remember, no phone calls. Lieutenant, I did my job and got you and your contacts to safety. You need to contact command and see what the next step will be.” He pointed at the radio behind him. “Go ahead and use that.”

“Got it. Get some rest, sir.”

Sharkey drifted to sleep within seconds, his nose whistling softly. Austin nodded to his Mom, and they moved to the table. He glanced at Kadyn, who sat in silence on the second couch as she stared out the window and pulled a blanket around her shoulders.

“She’ll be okay,” Mom said as she slid into the wooden table. “She’s in shock. I know how she feels.”

Austin sighed and leaned on the table, resting his head on his hands. “I’m so sorry, Mom. This isn’t how I imagined my homecoming.”

“Oh, I’m not talking about just this.” She looked at her hands. “I remember when your father told me he had cancer. Hit me like nothing else.”

She shook her head and held his hand. “I missed you. So give me the whole story. So, I leave you at the gate and drive back to Atlanta. What happens then? When did you know your school was what it was?”

Austin laughed but realized Mom meant what she said. “Well, part of me knew you were right when Nubern first came to visit. Remember you thought it was a military school?” He shook his head. “I feel kind of stupid now not knowing all of this from the beginning, but I was too excited to be there.”

He told her everything. Describing the early days of Tizona and the time he actually thought it was a strange private school brought back more memories than he expected. He told of meeting Skylar and struggling to make their physical requirements. He explained the difficult classes and the “rec room” that was actually a simulation room. Discussing the Gauntlet was something he would have rather forgotten. But he enjoyed reliving the night they left Tizona on the tube transport to California and, of course, he could hardly wait to tell her about the first time he saw Atlantis and the glowing creatures floating above them in the depths of the Pacific Ocean.

Through it all, Mom gazed at him with her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open. “My goodness, Austin.”

“Yeah, when I was transported to Atlantis, which is a base on the floor of the Pacific Ocean, I think I was in shock for a week after that. It’s the busiest Legion port on Earth. You wouldn’t believe it, Mom. There’s a bubble in the main room where you can see the sea life and, well, you’re going to have to see it if you take Nubern up on his offer.”

She leaned over the table. “And then what?”

“I was transported to Tarton’s Junction, the primary space station in Quadrant Eight. That’s where Earth is.”

Mom nodded. “I see. What was that the chief said about you saving lives? Can you tell me about that?”

Austin swallowed. He stared at the wood paneled walls. “It was at the end of my training. I didn’t save …”

He paused. He heard Scorpion’s screams on the radio, the smacking of Nubern’s helmet on the canopy as the Trident spun out of control, and the fire … the explosion taking two of his comrades.

“There was a girl,” he said, his voice wavering. He closed his eyes.

Mom rubbed his hand. “It’s okay, honey, you don’t have to tell me about it.”

“No, it’s alright.” He cleared his throat. “There was … a little pilot named Etti Mar.” He paused for a long moment. He opened his mouth several times, but the words wouldn’t come. “She had red hair.”

He wiped his face and gazed out the window. He tried to continue the story, but his voice cracked.

“Maybe another time.” Mom squeezed his hand, her eyes brimming with tears. “I can only imagine what you’ve seen.”